The Lost Heir: Book 1 - People of the Land
by PirateQueen890
Summary: On October 10th, eight years ago, Crown Prince Naruto was born to King Minato and Queen Kushina. But on that same day, he vanished. Meanwhile the nomadic Yaunkur tribe come to perform at the festival in Konoha for the prince's birthday, and one particular boy catches Lady Hinata's eye. Rated T because of later chapters. Being revised! 8/25 completed.
1. Prologue - The Lost Heir

**Hey! Welcome to the first story in a series that will eventually be at least three maybe two books long. I know that it's kind of a cliché plot but I decided that I wanted to try it out. Much inspiration for this story came from The Ascendance Trilogy, The Seven Realms, the story of Anastasia, and the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty. So onto the story, The People of the Land!**

 **EDIT (1/18/18): Revised.**

 **EDIT (2/8/18): Added final scene.**

 **EDIT (5/24/18): Changed added scene.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Naruto or any of the characters from it.**

* * *

" _Shiki Fūjin!_ "

Minato and Kushina, the two new parents, both collapsed to the ground. The Kuuybi's gigantic claw was sucked into their newborn son's body, with the rest of the demon fox tagging along. There was a sudden stillness in the landscape, as if the Land were holding her breath. The two rulers lay equally still, their eyes closed, and their limbs limp and unmoving. Were someone were to pass by then, it would seem as if they were simply in peaceful slumber, if not for the blood. Then as suddenly as it was created, the silence was broken by the piercing wail of a newborn. His mother, Kushina, slowly opened her eyes in response, and looked up at where her baby boy laid on the raised dark orange cushion of the sealing altar.

Seeing her baby's distress, the queen attempted to stand on her feet, but found that she couldn't. She was so tired. Going through childbirth and then having the Kuuybi extracted from her was seriously taking a toll on her body. She was tempted just to let herself fall asleep and rest, but when her eyes started to close she heard her small child crying out again and they just couldn't stay closed after that. So, even though Kushina was exhausted and most probably dying, her Uzumaki determination combined with her newly found motherly instincts forced her to crawl to her baby. She pulled him off the sealing alter and wrapped him securely in a strip of cloth from her skirt and then in her shaking arms. She rested against the altar and looked over to her husband.

 _He's not moving._

She felt the panic rise up her throat, threatening to choke her. The little baby in her arms sensed her distress and squirmed, his wails beginning to rise again. Kushina quickly swallowed her panic and calmed herself before looking down at her child. His big blue eyes were open and rapidly filling with tears as he looked up at his mother. Kushina marveled at the thought that this small baby could possibly understand what was going on.

 _Of course he does! He's got his parents' super smart and awesome genes after all!_

Kushina smiled down at him and let soft and comforting words spill from her lips. "Hey, it's alright, baby, everything is fine. We'll all be just fine. Just close your eyes and go to sleep. I'll be right here with you when you wake up." She continued to reassure him until a tiny (and adorable, might she add) yawn was released and his eyes flutter closed.

A wave of pain coursed through her body and she winced. Kushina knew that promise would most likely be broken. She also knew that Minato was probably dead or dying. A different sort of pain filled her being. She felt as if her heart was being ripped to shreds with that realization. The tears fell down her face as her eyes squeezed shut. How had this night come to this? It was supposed to be one of the greatest days in their lives, the night when their child came into the world. Said child fidgeted in her embrace once again. She pushed the thoughts of her husband out of her mind, and focused on her baby. One of her tears had landed on his face. She wiped it away with one thumb.

"I'm sorry baby," she whispered, for that was all that she could do with her waning strength. Kushina felt him settle down once more, and she softly hummed to her child, her voice growing weaker and weaker by the moment. Kushina knew that she didn't have long for this world, but she had to find some way to make sure that her baby would be protected and loved and safe. She was filled with sorrow at that thought, at the fact that she would not be able to watch her baby grow up, not be able to watch him take his first steps, or grow to become the wonderful man she knew he would become. And for that matter, the finest king this land would ever know.

That was when she heard footsteps behind her. They were quick and light, and Kushina felt through her empathetic abilities that these people were no threat. In fact, this couple just might be the answer to her problem. She then heard the man speak out.

"Excuse me madam, but my wife and I heard some noises from out here and were wondering if you might happen-" there was then a loud gasp and the footsteps grew faster and closer.

 _They must have seen the gaping hole in my middle._

Kushina saw the two owners of the voices then, as they ran to her side. They were not her citizens, that was obvious enough at first glance. However, their eyes were kind and their worry sincere, and that was enough for the new mother. Kushina came back to focus as the woman commanded her husband to get out the bandages and _quick this woman is dying_ -

"There's no need," Kushina whispered looking up at the young couple. "I'm not going to survive this."

"There must be something we can do." The man said.

"There is." Kushina then held out her baby boy to the man and his wife. "Please, take my baby. Protect him."

They looked at each other, and then the woman nodded. She held out her arms, ready to take the baby from his mother.

"He will be well loved."

Kushina was hesitant to let go of her child, but she knew that it was for the best. This couple would keep him safe and she could tell that they already adored him, even though they had never even held him.

She lowered her head and placed a gentle kiss on her baby's forehead and whispered to him, "don't worry baby, you will be well looked after and raised with love and care. Just remember that mommy and daddy love you very much." Her voice broke a bit at the end, and then Kushina placed her beautiful baby boy in the arms of the woman that knelt beside her.

The woman looked at the small child peacefully sleeping her embrace and then asked his mother, "what is this little one's name?"

"It's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

Then there was a brief, peaceful silence as the couple stared down at their new charge. However, it was soon shattered by the sound of marching feet and loud voices in the forest behind them.

"Keep searching! Their majesties must be around here somewhere!" One voice shouted above the rest. Kushina knew that voice. It belonged to the captain of the royal guard. She should be happy to hear that voice, but for some reason she felt panicked. They would find baby Naruto and he would be forced to survive court life without his parents, taking the crown at a young age. Kushina did not want that for her son. She looked up urgently at the couple holding her baby. They faced the forest with similar looks.

"Go," Kushina whispered. "Get out of here before the royal guard arrives." At their hesitant glances towards her and Minato she added, "don't worry. They will take care of my husband and me."

With that reassurance the couple needed no more prompting and fled into the thick forest that laid opposite of the one the guards were in. Kushina then saw her vision going dark, and her last sight was of the fleeing couple with her baby, before they disappeared into the forest, and she saw no more.

* * *

On the night the Kyuubi attacked, Konoha was alight with sharp agony and red chakra. Then, when it was finally over, the vibrant city was void of energy and life. The only sound came from the wind as it carried the sorrowful wails of those left behind to the entire continent.

Konoha was wounded. Many of her citizens were dead and her people's hope was dying, just as her monarchs were. Her brilliant and lively spark was diminished. She was losing hope too.

All this the shadow could see.

He glided down the marbled halls of the palace, loving the darkness they held. Konoha was dark, and the palace was a reflection of that. The only break in shadow came from rooms a little further down the hall, where nurses and close friends attended to the flickering lights of the Fire King and Queen.

"Will they be okay?"

"There's no way they could die, right? Not Minato. Not Kushina."

 _"Please, wake up."_

The shadow avoided that room. Light hurt his eyes. Instead, he carefully entered the room beside it, pausing briefly in the doorway, curling against the wall. His eyes were drawn to the cradle in the center of the room. The shadow treaded across the floor, looming over the cradle. He peered into it curiously, and then sighed in disappointment.

It was empty.

 _"You aren't here, Nasazí…"_ the shadow rumbled, its voice hoarse like despair. _"However, I was correct. You chose_ this _family."_

The shadow let out a deep sigh, vanishing as the morning light came through the window, leaving behind only a few words. _"I_ will _find you, Nasazí."_

And the wails of the city echoed across the room, made only sharper by the rising light.

* * *

THE LOST HEIR: BOOK 1 – PEOPLE OF THE LAND

* * *

Kushina's sight was filled with darkness as she felt herself coming to. She heard fuzzy voices all around her that were slowly becoming clearer. Her mind was filled with confusion. Why was she waking up? Wasn't she supposed to be dead? She opened her eyes and saw white walls and bond hair on a blurry face above her. Her vision cleared and she realized that is was Minato. Wasn't he supposed to be dead too? Just what was going on here?

Minato, recognizing the confusion on his wife's face gently told her, "we're not dead, honey. We made it." He paused. "You've been out for three weeks."

Kushina reeled in shock.

 _Three whole weeks. Did my Uzumaki genes take a vacation?_

"Kushina, sweetie, where is Naruto?"

All of the events that came after the sealing finished came flooding back to her. Her baby wailing. Her husband dying. The couple. Giving up her baby.

"I don't know, Minato. I don't know." She whispered as the tears rolled down her face. Minato sat on the bed his dear wife laid in and gently pulled her into his warm embrace. Kushina wept into his chest, and Minato placed his cheek on his wife's head, silent tears of his own falling down to rest on her fiery red hair.

(A few days later Kushina told her husband about all that had transpired after the sealing of the Kuuybi. They decided that it was best to keep the information of where their child was secret from all else, and for him to stay with the strange couple. They would keep him safe. Naruto would return to them someday, and that day couldn't come soon enough.)


	2. The Nomadic Yaunkur Tribe

**Hello again! I wasn't expecting to update so soon, but it's winter break and I have plenty of time on my hands, and many ideas flowing through my head. So here it is!**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **EDIT (1/20/18): Revised.**

 **EDIT (4/4/18): Changed titles to Kae, fixed Roni's and Nila's ages, changed Anusuli.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Naruto or any of the characters from it.**

* * *

 **Five Years after the Kuuybi Attack and Naruto's Birth**

The Yaunkur were strange. Unlike the rest of the continent, they never truly settled down. They were a people who continued to move, as if the need to were in their very bones. They moved irregularly, sometimes disappearing across the waves in the winter, only to return in the spring. They slept in tents, and sometimes caves, but never in an inn. They kept to their own and seemingly held many secrets, and some suspected them to be a tribe of demons. They sang while they worked, danced when they walked, and laughed as they talked, as if they had no cares in the world.

Some people feared and hated them.

The Yaunkur were unique. It was a common fact that their charms and talismans were practically the only ones that actually worked, and their woven wool was some of the finest on the continent. They were amazing performers, and people came from all around when they heard the Yaunkur were going to be putting on a show.

Some people trusted and loved them.

However, what people often forgot was that the Yaunkur were a people just like the rest of them, with the same people problems. Like, for example, parenting.

" _Annis_ Kahina!" A small voice called out in distress. " _Annis_ Kahina!"

Kahina, matriarch of the nomadic Yaunkur tribe, stood up carefully from where she was hanging up the laundry to dry on a line stretched between two trees. She huffed at the effort it took with the child growing in her womb. It seemed that even standing was equal to the strain of a week's journey these days. A golden blur rushed to her and wrapped himself around her right leg. This would not have worked for any other child his age in the tribe. He was tiny. Well, physically at least. Kahina's husband, Dimos, often joked that in spirit, Nato was the mightiest of them all.

"What's wrong, _Coru_ Nato?" She asked soothingly. The child lifted his face to look at his aunt. There were tears in his big and bright blue eyes.

"Why did my parents leave? Did they not like me?"

Internally, Kahina winced. How was she supposed to answer that question? Leaving her laundry, she knelt down to hug her nephew.

"What makes you ask this now?"

"The others teased me because I don't have any parents."

Kahina sighed, and gently said, "your parents didn't leave you with us because they didn't want you. They did it to protect you. They didn't want you to be alone. Sweetie, your mother and father may not be with us in this tribe, but you have me, your _Onnis_ Dimos, your friends Kurama and Kiki, all of the others in the tribe, and soon you will have a little _inni_ too. Do you remember just what our tribe name Yaunkur means?"

Nato nodded. "It means we're _her_ people."

"That's right. We're part of the Land's family, we are a tribe and together one family, one people." And Kahina might just have to remind some other _cora cora_ of that too.

Nato looked very pensive for a moment, and then he nodded. Kahina moved turned back to resume working on the laundry, but the look on Nato's face made her pause. It was a good thing that she did too, because soon the child opened his mouth again.

" _Annis_ Kahina," he began, "I _know_ that, but who were my parents? What…" His nose scrunched up. "What did they like to eat? What did they sound like? Would they have loved me?" The tiny boy looked down at the ground with those final words in sorrow, and a small tear slipped down his face. Kahina stood in silence, unsure of how to respond. She knelt down beside Nato and put a finger underneath his chin, tilting it up, so that he was looking directly at her.

"Nato, I can't say that I know much about what sort of people your parents were. Your uncle and I only found you and your mother when she was at the doors of death, with your father in a similar state." Nato looked disappointed, but Kahina wasn't done just yet. "I can tell you though that they both loved you very much and did not want to give you up, but it was the only choice they had to keep you safe."

" _Annis_ Kahina, what did they look like?"

"Well _Coru_ Nato, your mother had the most beautiful red hair I have ever seen, and you have your father's bright golden hair. Other than that, I don't really know."

The tears spilled over his eyes and the little boy wiped his eyes furiously. " _Dirjat tei_ , _Annis_ Kahina," he mumbled.

"Anything for you, Bright Soul." Kahina stood up and went back to her laundry. "Now why don't you see what Kiki is up to?" The five-year-old child's eyes lit up and he raced away in search of his fox friend, but not before giving his auntie one last hug. Kahina chuckled and went back to hanging the laundry, all the while thinking of the day Kiki appeared in their lives.

 _It was three years after they had gotten Nato when he appeared one day with a small orangey-red fox kit in his arms. It was bigger than his entire body. His arms were wrapped around its middle and he had to sort of waddle to move, partly dragging the fox kit along. The kit seemed oblivious to what was going on, and was surprisingly calm for a fox being dragged away from its mother by a human child. Nato waddled up to Kahina and asked, "_ Annis _Kahina, can I keep her?"_

 _Little Nato held the kit up as far as his short little arms would allow him to, and then proceeded to fall backwards because of the weight, landing on his bottom. He blinked a few times, his blue eyes wide. Kahina covered her mouth with a hand, stifling the laughter that threated to break out. The small child opened his mouth and for a moment Kahina was terrified he would start wailing. Instead, sweet child laughter bubbled out from his lips. Kahina, bursting at the seams, allowed her own laughter to spill out at child's amusement. He wasn't known as Bright Soul for nothing._

 _"Okay, you can keep her."_

Of course, thoughts of the fox's own mother came to Kahina later, but she learned from Nato that Kiki had come to him, and she didn't seem to eager to go back to wherever she had come from. It was likely that the Kiki hadn't had a mother to go back to. Kahina made Nato promise that he would take very good care of fox. Looking back on it, she never regretted her decision, for Kiki grew to be Nato's greatest friend.

With a sigh Kahina moved over to grab the next basket of laundry, and her thoughts wandered once again. This time though they settled on the events that followed finding Nato and his mother.

 _On that day five years ago, the Yaunkur tribe had just arrived in Konoha, the capital of the Land of Fire, for their next stop on their path back to the Ancestors' Valley. The Yaunkur didn't really have a schedule, and little was certain on their travels. They roamed all across the continent, going where're the wind blew them. However, when the drums sounded, they headed to the only physical place they would consider a home: Anusuli, the Spirits' Heart, the land only the Yaunkur knew._

 _Kahina and Dimos were taking a simple walk through the forest near their campsite, when chaos erupted across Konoha. After all the destruction and confusion (even in the forest), they found themselves lost. It was then that they met the Fire Queen, and agreed to adopt her son into their tribe. It was obvious who she was; no one else in all of Konoha had hair that red, and a newborn son. Especially since that son was reported missing on that same day. It was easy to put two and two together._

 _At first, Dimos and Kahina thought it best to return the child to his family, since (against all odds) the royal couple still lived. However, the drums warned them away._

 _So they kept baby Naruto._

 _Wanting to keep the child safe but still give him a piece of his birth family, they decided to call him Nato, and then casted a spell to hide him from searching eyes. Trusting the Queen's judgment and the peaceful pounding of the drums, they left the grieving Fire Country, and found themselves safe on a ship sailing to Anusuli a few weeks later._

Kahina stood up from where she hanged the laundry, and looked about the forest clearing in the Land of Waterfalls that had served as their temporary camp for the last day or so. Tomorrow morning they would be leaving for the Land of Water for trading purposes. Kahina saw some of the other women and older girls at work at the looms or patching up clothing. Surprisingly, there were some young boys and girls over there too, learning how to sew.

She paused. Thinking about it, it really wasn't all that surprising. After all, she made Nato begin learning just a few weeks ago.

 _"_ Annis _Kahina, why do I have to learn how to do this? Sewing is only something that girls do." Nato complained._

 _"Well," began Kahina, "what if you're all alone in the forest and you rip your pants?"_

 _Nato simply blinked a few times. "_ Annis _Kahina, when will I ever be alone?" He asked with genuine confusion. "And why would having ripped pants be a problem?" Kahina frowned at him, and then sighed deeply. Honestly, she loved this child to pieces, but he could sometimes be so thick._

 _"Well, what if one of your friends or family are hurt and you could help them by stitching up their wound?" This question made Nato pause in his whining. Nato had always been more interested in the art of healing than almost everything else in his studies and lessons, so this definitely caught his attention._

 _"Okay,_ Annis _Kahina." He said simply. He then went back to his sewing, this time much more focused, and with the willingness to learn in his heart and mind._

Kahina's thoughts moved on from sewing as she glanced elsewhere. As she looked around, she saw the children at play, the hunters coming back from a morning spent scavenging the forest, and the others getting up to welcome them back. Kahina spotted her husband walking over to her, smiling. She returned it.

As he opened his mouth to speak, a young and exuberant voice exclaimed, " _Onnis_ Dimos!" Nato came running up to his uncle and hugged his legs. Dimos chuckled as he reached down to ruffle his adopted nephew's shoulder length golden hair. A large grin was on the child's face.

"So, Nato, how has your morning been?" Dimos asked.

"I got to play with Kiki a whole bunch." Nato responded with happiness, but then he frowned. " _Onnis_ Dimos, I'm hungry." His stomach grumbled in agreement and Nato looked up at Kahina expectantly. This caused his uncle to burst out in laughter. Kahina simply shook her head in amusement, and then the leaders of the tribe left to help prepare the midday meal, Nato trailing close behind.

* * *

 **Translations:**

 ** _Cora cora_ – Children **

**_Dirjat tei –_ Thank you**

 ** _Coru_ – Little, for children**

 ** _Annis_ – Aunt**

 ** _Onnis –_ Uncle **

**_Inni_ – Cousin**


	3. Lessons and Bedtime Stories

**Ello! So the other night I watched 'The Cokeville Miracle' with my family. It is an amazing movie and true story. It is about the incident that happened in Cokeville, Wyoming in the 1980s, in which a man and his wife took a bomb into the elementary school and held the children and teachers hostage in a small room all together, and they were a third of the town's population. After two hours, the bomb went off. The thing is, when everyone in that room should have died, only two did. And those two people were the man and his wife who were holding the children hostage. I highly recommend watching the movie, but not alone, to find out just what the miracle (or miracles) was/were. Anyway, onto the next chapter!**

 **EDIT (3/7/17): The title of 'Kage' is not given to the King/Queen but the head of their shinobi forces.**

 **EDIT (3/25/17): Added in Yuudai.**

 **EDIT (11/28/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **EDIT (1/30/18): Rewritten.**

 **EDIT (4/4/14): Changed titles to Kae.**

* * *

 **Seven Years and 364 days after the Kuuybi Attack and Naruto's Birth**

 _Tum ta-tum ta-tum ta-tum ta-tum…_

The child exhaled slowly, eyes lazily watching the clouds drift by.

 _Hmm…that one kind of looks like a ramen bowl._

His stomach grumbled, drawing an annoyed yip from the head lying there. "Sorry, Kiki. I guess I'm a bit hungry." The fox laid her head back down, and promptly fell back to sleep.

It was peaceful mornings like this that Nato loved. The heavy fog floating down from the mountains, the gentle breeze ruffling the leaves of ancient trees, the soft grass cool with dew. No chores to be done (yet), no nagging teachers until sunhigh-

Nato shot up, disturbing Kiki, his gaze focused on the sky overhead. The sun was just past its highest point.

 _Shoot._

"Come on, _uua_! We're late!" They ran for the forest, bare feet padding softly on the hard ground. Nato couldn't believe the time slipped by so quickly! It seemed like it was only a few minutes ago when he left with Kiki after finishing his morning chores. Had he fallen asleep again? He leapt over a log.

 _Zirq'caa_ Meira is going to kill me!

Nato ran faster, the thought painted hauntingly in his mind. Then, the fox and the human reached the edges of the camp. The child hesitated, placing his hand on a tree beside him. He received a message.

 _"Bright Soul,_ tei narcuu cora _, get your butt over here or I'll-"_

He pulled his hand away, wincing.

 _Yup, I'm dead._

* * *

With steps as quiet as humanly possible, Nato snuck up to the three-sided tent, and peered in carefully. Seeing his teacher's turned back, he ducked in quickly, taking a seat on the rug covered ground, ignoring the curious and amused glances from the Yaunkur outside.

He sat there, still and quiet, barely even breathing, trying his best to pay attention to the lesson and act natural. Last time he was late, it resulted in loads of extra schoolwork, and that was something Nato liked to avoid. If it were more work from one of his other lessons, say _talbone_ training, he would be more than fine with it. However, an assignment from _Zirq'caa_ Meira was rarely fun. It usually involved lots of writing, and even more sitting still.

"Don't think I didn't notice your late entrance, Bright Soul."

He froze, very aware of the sweat trickling down his forehead.

Zirq'caa _Meira definitely isn't happy if she's pulling out the formal names._

Giving him a stern look, the young teacher frowned. "We'll talk about it after the lesson, so don't go making an early exit too, Nato."

" _Ro_ , _Zirq'caa_."

The teacher went back to the review, gesturing to the large map on the floor as her circle of students leaned in closer to see. "Now as I was saying, the elemental continent is comprised of many different lands, countries, and nations, each ruled by a King and or a Queen. Their heir, who is typically their eldest son, becomes the next ruler of the Kingdom when they die, or step down. As you know, the land that we are currently in, the Land of Fire-"

 _-Ash, smoke, the world is burning. Red, yellow, it's hot, too hot. There's nothing left, it's all my fault, my fault-_

Nato blinked.

"-is one of the five great nations. The others are Wind, Lightning, Water, and Earth. They are bigger and stronger than most of the other lands, and all have a shinobi system lead by a 'Kage'. Each nation's Kage answers to their country's primary ruler and none else."

The boy drew in a shaky breath, ignoring the concerned glance from the boy sitting next to him. What…what was that? All of the sudden, he felt all too hot, like everyone one was pressing in, and it was too much-

"Nato, are you alright?" The boy whispered. Nato glanced over at him, realizing it was his friend, Inwoe, he was sitting next to.

He nodded, a little too quickly to be convincing. Inwoe frowned and seemed to want to say something more, but they were interrupted.

"Fire Eater, Bright Soul, do you have something to share with the class?"

They shook their heads vehemently.

"Alright then, _no more private conversations_." She continued with the lesson, and both boys decided to be extra good for the rest of it. With his mind now distracted, Nato thought no more of the memory.

"The Land of Fire is also one of the only countries where the throne in passed onto the eldest living child of the royal family, regardless of their gender. The Fire Country currently has three known living heirs, the princesses Masai and Nami, and the latter's younger twin brother, Yuudai." Here she paused, as if unsure of whether to continue or not. "There was a prince though who was born the first child of King Minato and Queen Kushina, but he went missing soon after his birth, and is presumed dead."

A strange thing happened then. It was as if Meira was look straight at Nato, trying to convey to him the udder importance of her next words, and Nato felt all else fade away as he concentrated on what she was saying.

"His name was Naruto, or in his full title, Crown Prince Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Heir to the Throne of the Land of Fire." She looked away, and Nato felt kind of confused as the moment ended. What she said just there, it was important, right? He thought hard for a second, and shrugged. It didn't matter.

"The festival we will perform at tomorrow in Konoha is in celebration of the Kuuybi's defeat, and the birth of Prince Naruto. Of course, later in the evening it is an event of mourning for the lost heir." There was a period of silence, and then the look of sorrow on Meira's face turned back into that of a stern teacher, complete with the hands on her hips.

"Okay, be honest with me, what is up with all of you today? Usually you are all constantly interrupting me with your questions and jokes." They all glanced away from her uneasily, fidgeting from their positions on the rugs.

Their teacher noticed this and gave a knowing smile. "It's because of the performance you have to put on tomorrow, isn't it?" Some of them nodded. The younger children weren't going to perform all that much, but the kids their age and up were going to be doing quite a bit. This normally wasn't something to fret about, since they performed all the time, but tomorrow, they would not only be putting on a show for a capital city, but the royal family. "Go on and practice all of you, lessons are done for the day."

The large group of children needed no more prompting as they got up off the ground and raced out of the tent, cheering all the way, leaving Nato, Inwoe, and a girl their age behind. Their teacher busied herself with rolling up the map, taking her time. It was almost as if she relished in making her students squirm. When she finished, Meira turned to the three students, focusing her gaze on Nato.

He gulped.

"So, why were you late today, Nato?"

"Well…you see…" he dragged on, trying to think of an answer. The short Yaunkur woman raised her eyebrow. "I was out looking at the clouds with Kiki and lost track of time…and maybe fell asleep?"

Meira's expression didn't change in the slightest.

"It's really nice outside and…and the clouds were making some really funny shapes and I just didn't notice-"

She held up a hand to pause him.

"-and I'm sorry?"

"Nato, this is the third time in just the last week that you have been late. I know that you're nervous about your part in the festival tomorrow, and practice is taking up a lot of your time, but your studies are important too. So no more getting lost in thought, okay?"

The boy nodded. "I understand, _Zirq'caa_ Meira. It won't happen again."

She raised her eyebrow again.

"I really mean it this time."

After holding him under her intense stare for a few seconds, Meira sighed. "Fine. Now go help Basheera with supper."

Nato dutifully bowed his head and walked out of the tent. Inwoe and the girl, Sura, pulled up beside him, walking with him to the cooking area.

"So, you got off with only kitchen duty today?"

"Yup, and I'm not complaining."

There was a short pause before Sura spoke up. "What were you two talking about during the lesson?"

Nato's mouth opened to reply, but Inwoe beat him to it. "I think Nato had another one." He trained knowing eyes on the shorter boy. "Didn't you?"

Sighing, Nato nodded. There was no use in trying to hide it from them. They were way too good at reading him.

"What was it about this time?"

"…Fire."

"Have you told _Annis_ Kahina about them yet?" Inwoe asked.

He nodded. "She says they might be memories."

"Of what?"

Nato shrugged.

"Wait…what if you used to be a shinobi, but lost all your memories, and then ended up with us?" Inwoe posed.

Sura released an exasperated sigh. "Nato isn't even twelve yet. When would he have had the time to be a shinobi?"

Nato thought about it for a moment, teasing with the idea. "I don't know, Sura, I think Inwoe could be onto something."

"Yeah, think about it, Sura! It makes complete sense! Interesting and sometimes violent memories, weird habits-"

Inwoe didn't have time to finish. Upon seeing them, Basheera, the head _Fal'raa_ , grabbed a large pot of boiled potatoes, and plopped them into Inwoe's arms. He staggered under the weight.

"You three are helping me today. I've got the entire tribe to feed and need all the help I can get, so don't go running off. Skin these potatoes, and when you're done, come back for more." She stared down at them. " _Kcuna?_ "

They all gulped, and nodded. " _Ro_ , _Annis_ Basheera."

"Good." She left to go help the _Fal'raa Fal'raa_ under her supervision with preparing the meal. Together, the three children dragged the pot of potatoes to the where the wastebasket was, and began peeling the softened skin from the potatoes.

Picking one hot potato up, Nato peeled the skin away until there was none left, and placed it into the empty basket. He looked back at overflowing pot of to-be-peeled potatoes.

 _This is going to take a while._

* * *

Stomach full, Nato laid back on his mat in the Quarters tent, letting out a content sigh. He closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep, but realized that 1) he was in the Quarters tent, which meant almost _half_ the tribe was sleeping in there, 2) no one else was ready to sleep, and 3) a story hadn't been told yet.

Speaking of which…

" _Mamae!_ A story!" Begged Roni

Nila agreed. "Yeah, yeah! A story!"

There were more begging voices, until eventually Nato gave up on trying to sleep, and sat up to see Kahina, who was basically his foster mother, come over to sit beside her children.

"Alright, alright." She laughed as she pacified her three-year-olds. She knelt down beside them on her mat, asking, "what story will be it tonight?"

The little ones chattered away, listing various tales.

"How about you, Nato, any requests?"

He leaned back and hummed, thinking about it, and then thought of one. "The Moon Lady's Oath."

"Oh, the Moo' Lady!" Nila exclaimed.

" _Ro, ro!_ "

"Well then," Kahina straightened, preparing to tell the story. "As we all know, there were only two Spirits in the beginning; Akes, the Shade, and Nasazi, the Burning Light. And after them came Hasmae, who is the Guiding Light, the Spirit who reveals all Truth. A countless number of years later, we humans first came to be on this world, and within us came both light and darkness. During the hours Nasazi, the Sun Spirit, watched the world, no thieves could do their work, for he was too bright. During the hours darkness roamed across the world, Hasmae, the Moon Spirit, guided the lost home and stood at her vigil." Kahina paused for dramatic effect. While she had been speaking, more people in the tent had drawn closer to listen to the story too. By now, she had a reasonably large crowd.

"One night, a human snuck into another's home, stealing a precious medallion. Then he stole into the home just beside it, depositing the medallion there. There were no witnesses to his crime. Or so he thought. Believing to have gotten away clean, he went back to his own home, and slept with no worries.

"The following day, there was a dispute between two humans, who were neighbors. One claimed to be missing a precious family heirloom, a golden medallion, and insisted her neighbor had stolen it, as their families were long time rivals. Sure enough, the medallion was found in the other's home. Now, the Innocent Man was known to have committed such crimes years ago, and even though he had already paid his sentence and turned away from his old habits, the other humans were all too quick to blame him. He was to be punished, but then someone came before it could be done."

"The Moo' Lady! The Moo' Lady!" Roni and Nila exclaimed.

Kahina laughed. "That's right. The Moon Lady refused to let an innocent man pay for another's crime. She commanded that the two neighbors be brought before her, along with a man who had long despised the Innocent Man. Then she had the left collarbone of the three shown, revealing bare skin on the Innocent Man and his neighbor, but not on the final man. On his collarbone rested the dark mark of a hooded eye, its pupil slit. He man cried out in shock and fear, for he knew the mark hadn't been there the previous day. The Moon Lady proclaimed that the man bearing her cursed mark, _Trubaase_ , was the thief. The man, knowing there was nothing to be gained by arguing, admitted to his crime, and he was punished. Before she left, the Moon Spirit swore this: she would keep watch over the night, and all who harmed during her vigil would be marked, and it would only fade until after their sentence was paid.

"And so, _cora cora_ , remember that, and know you are safe under the Moon Lady's gentle eye."

As the occupants of tent then began to settle down for the night, Kahina tucked her three children in, and left the tent to join her husband. Before closing his eyes, Nato glanced around and watched the other children as their own parents parted for the night, and a warm, fuzzy feeling of belonging stayed with him as he drifted off to sleep.

And that night, he dreamt of a young woman with a fiercely kind spirit and moons for eyes.

* * *

Nato woke up bright and early the next morning with the rest of the tribe, and again helped with the morning meal, and then with packing up the camp. Using storage scrolls, they packed away most of it in under an hour, and rounded up their flock of sheep and loaded the mules in even less time. The adults assigned some children to help keep watch of the flock for the first shift of the morning, and then, all together, they headed off.

Throughout this time, many people greeted Nato and wished him a happy eighth birthday. With all the hustle and bustle, he had nearly forgotten about it! Not to mention the festival…

 _It's tonight!_

And unfortunately, he had four hours on the road with nothing to think about _but_ the festival. To distract each other, Nato, Sura, and Inwoe played games like 'What's in the Shinobi's Pouch?', and ran around with Kiki. However, as they neared the last few miles of the journey there was no avoiding it, and they quieted down, consumed in their own thoughts of Konoha and the celebration.

All the while, Konoha was an ever growing light in the distance.

* * *

 **Translations:**

 ** _Uua_ – This is like the equivalent of saying 'girl' to a pet. **

**_Tei_ – You**

 ** _Narcuu cora_ – Brat or naughty child**

 ** _Zarq'caa_ \- Teacher**

 ** _Fal'raa_ – Cook **

**_Fal'raa Fal'raa -_ Cooks**

 ** _Kcuna_ – Understood **

**_Ro_ – Yes **

**_Mamae_ – Mama**

 ** _Annis –_ Aunt **

**_Trubaase_ – Truth's Eye**


	4. The Hyuuga Heiress

**Hey again! I have decided that I will do my best to update within a week (and maybe a half) of the last update. If there is something that prevents me from updating, like a family trip, then I will notify all of you in the previous chapter. Oh, and if I don't update then it might also be because of no internet connection or a power outage. They happen a lot where I live. Anyway, in this chapter I will be introducing this story's other main character, so enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **EDIT (3/25/17): Added in Yuudai.**

 **EDIT (11/28/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (2/3/18): Revised.**

* * *

Lord Hiashi Hyuuga, the head of the prestigious and rigid Hyuuga clan, had a daughter.

 _Not a son._

When he held the babe in his hands for the first time-

- _she's so small, too small-_

-He was struck by how frail and quiet she was. She hardly screamed. She was a little angel who could do no harm, and he had the distinct impression that his little girl would not be leading the Hyuuga clan some day in the future, as was her birthright. She was meant for something else.

The elders of the clan agreed, but for far different reasons, the greatest being the little fact that Hinata was a _girl_. The noble and ancient Hyuuga clan couldn't be lead by a _woman_! Just the thought was preposterous! Even before she opened her eyes for the first time, the elders had written her off as incapable of being the future leader their clan. To them, she was simply a means to further their bonds with other noble families, such as the Aburame and the Inuzuka.

 _Both of their leaders had little boys Hinata's age._

However, Hiashi had higher aspirations for his daughter. The elders had forgotten one important couple: King Minato and Queen Kushina. He was perfectly aware that their son was missing, and many presumed him to be dead. He once believed that of the little prince too. However, after hearing the royal couple's account of that tragic night, Hiashi's mind was changed. They claimed that a masked man had attacked them and extracted the Kuuybi from the Queen. According to their account, King Minato managed to force the masked man to retreat, seal the Fox Demon inside of his newborn son, the Crown Prince Naruto, and then they both passed out from exhaustion and blood loss. When they awoke, their son was gone.

Did Hiashi believe them? Mostly, but he knew they were hiding something. However, that was irrelevant. What did matter was that the prince was only presumed dead, and there were bound to be more royal children. It was actually highly likely that the Crown Prince was still alive, to be held as ransom or something else along that line, so he was sure to show up at some time. And if he never did (and if the King and Queen only had female heirs), then his daughter would just have to become the next head of the Hyuuga clan, even if he knew that wasn't the path meant for her.

So his daughter grew, and proved his suspicions even further. When she began lessons on their clan's ancient techniques, the elders saw her gentle nature and reaffirmed their judgment of her low worth. But Hiashi saw the fierce determination alight in her gaze every time she picked herself up off of the ground and continued on. She wasn't meant to lead the Hyuuga clan.

Even though the elders disapproved of Hinata as the Hyuuga heiress, there was no other option besides her cousin Neji, and for the elders, who refused even more to have a Hyuuga from the branch family represent their prestigious clan, Hiashi's daughter was the lesser of two evils.

That is, until Hiashi's second daughter was born. At first, the elders had the same reservations about Hanabi as they had with Hinata, but as she grew she proved to be confident, proud, and without hesitation. She was without the gentleness her elder sister possessed.

To the elders, she was the best, third option for the position of the Hyuuga Heiress. Unfortunately, she was not the eldest, and according to tradition, the eldest inherited the title.

As the head of the Hyuuga clan, it was his job to move the clan forward and keep their traditions, and that was a fact the elders were never hesitant to remind him of. They insisted Hiashi disown his eldest, or arrange a marriage for her with the Inuzuka, Aburame, or even (goodness, no) the Uchiha. He refused and held them back, all the while pushing Hinata harder and harder to be more like her younger sister.

Because until the prince showed up, his daughter could not follow the path made for her.

And Hiashi _was_ doing what was best for his clan.

If his sweet daughter did manage to become a ruler of the Fire Country one day, then there were endless possibilities and advantages. First of all, there would be a main branch Hyuuga in the inner (and very private) circle that was the royal family and their close friends. Second, when there were heirs to the throne, they would be half main branch Hyuuga. Third, it would get himself and the rest of the Hyuuga clan closer to royals, not only in the Land of Fire, but also in other countries.

And there weren't just advantages to the Hyuuga clan as a whole, but also to Hiashi as a father. He wanted what was best for his daughter, and being married into the royal family would make sure the elders of the Hyuuga clan couldn't have their hands on her. If she were queen, they wouldn't be able to mark her. She would defy the limitations her clan-

- _Her own father_ -

-Placed on her, and take her rightful place above them.

Because the first time Hiashi held his daughter, he saw a _queen_.

* * *

 **Exactly Eight Years after the Kuuybi Attack and the Birth of Prince Naruto**

Hinata panted heavily from where she knelt on the wooden floor. She clenched her eyes shut briefly, gathering herself, and then dragged herself to her feet, settling into a fluid stance. Facing her cousin once again, she attacked. The heiress moved gracefully, but she was tired, and weaker in body than her cousin.

Neji knocked her to the ground once again.

"That's enough for today." Her father spoke, his voice harsh and his features stern. "Wash up and change. We leave for the festival in an hour."

Pulling herself up once more, Hinata bowed along side her cousin, watching as her father and the elders left the training room.

Glaring fiercely with contempt at his younger cousin, Neji bowed stiffly to her too, and exited behind them.

Hinata stood alone in the room, clenching her fists tightly, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.

 _Why can't I do better? Why am I so weak?_

"Oh, Lady Hinata, we must start preparing you for the festival! We don't have much time!" The young girl opened her eyes to see her maidservant bustling into the room, ushering her out and down the halls of the Hyuuga mansion.

She let her maidservant guide her, ironing her face back into its usual expression, the wrinkles of failure and despair sizzling away. In under an hour, her servant washed away the young heiress' sweat and hard work, dressed in her a fine kimono, and straightened her short hair.

When the hour was up, Hinata was lead to the front courtyard of the Hyuuga mansion, and loaded in a carriage with the rest of her family. Immediately, her younger sister, Hanabi, focused her joyful gaze on her.

"Neechan, are you excited?"

For the first time that day, a genuine smile strode its way up her face.

"Yes, Hanabi-chan. I'm very excited."

They were going to the festival! Every year the royal family invited performers from all across the continent, and each year the performers never failed to impress. These performances were always something Hinata looked forward to every year. They were spectacular. However, Hinata was more excited for this year's festival than ever before. The mysterious and peculiar Yaunkur tribe was coming to perform. Having heard much about their skills, Hinata was excited to finally see the tribe in person.

She had to wonder though; how had the royal family managed to convince the Yaunkur to perform for them? The tribe was perhaps even more famous for their wariness and countless secrets. Even though they were amazing and well known to be so, they only did small performances. Though, Hinata thought, it didn't matter too much.

 _I'm finally going to see the Yaunkur!_

The girl's mother, Lady Hitomi, climbed into the carriage and took a seat on the bench across them. Seeing her girls buzzing with excitement and fidgeting in their seats, she raised an artful eyebrow and smiled in amusement.

"Sit still, girls. You are ladies of the Hyuuga clan. You do not fidget."

They settled down (as much as a seven-year-old and a three-year-old could), and waited as their father took his seat too.

At a signal from her father, the carriage lurched forward and began its journey to the outdoor theater. Glancing out the window, Hinata watched the trail of carriages following them, holding various elders, branch members, and guards who would also be joining them at the festival. At the reminder of the elders, Hinata's mood dampened.

Hinata was known for her meek and gentle nature. As such, there weren't many things she could say she truly hated, and that made it easily to list them. She hated the cursed seal placed on many of her family members; she hated the traditional views of the elders; she hated that because of those views she couldn't one day lead the Hyuuga clan and change it for the better; she hated herself for not being strong enough for the elders. Because of her meek and gentle nature, the elders only saw to be capable of being some noble man's wife.

Unless she proved herself to be worthy of the position of Hyuuga Heiress, by the time she turned sixteen, she would be having her wedding, probably to a young man similar to her best friends Kiba and Shino, who were both heirs to prominent clans in the Fire Country.

That is, if the elders had their way. Her father was a separate story. Just like them, he didn't want her to the Hyuuga Heiress, and that was infinity more painful than the lack of faith the elders displayed. However, it was also clear to her that he saw something more in her future. He had her tutors teach her about governing, royal protocol, and various other courses. Now, Hinata may have been only seven, but she wasn't oblivious; her father was preparing her become a leader.

Just not the Hyuuga clan's.

Hinata was turned away from these thoughts as the scenery changed from the clean, wide cobbled streets of Konoha's Sun Sector to the green landscape of the city's outer edge. They were almost at the performance spot.

She remembered her excitement and her face glowed with anticipation. The carriage halted as it reached the drop off point, and one by one they exited the carriage, Hinata's father going first. Together they walked to the seats reserved for the Hyuuga Clan and settled down. The outdoor theater was set into the ground, the stage being much lower than the seats forming a raised semi-circle around it. From their seats they had a perfect view of the stone stage and the forest that laid behind it, where the famous nomadic tribe was no doubt preparing. She looked behind her and saw that the crowd extended far into the distance.

And just like every year, there were shinobi standing all around the stage, and not only for security reasons. A few of them were also there to perform the jutsu that would transmit the sound and visuals of the performance to the various receiving points around Konoha and among the huge crowd stretching beyond the theater.

That way everyone could see and hear the performance that marked the beginning of the October 10th celebration.

A hush fell over the crowd as the last train of carriages reached the drop off point. Hinata rose with the rest of the crowd as the royal family came out of their carriage and went to their seats. She saw the blond haired King Minato, his wife–the redheaded beauty, Queen Kushina–and their three children, Princess Masai, Princess Nami, and Prince Yuudai. They took their seats and the rest of the crowd sat back down, whether on the cushioned stone seats or the soft ground.

Now, they only had to wait for the show to start, and it wasn't long before Hanabi nudged her older sister, pointing to the forest. The two sisters looked down at it, and held their breath as a person walked out.


	5. The Festival

**Yay! It's festival time, so prepare for a longer chapter than usual. I also just want to say that next week I will be back in school, so updates might take a bit longer but not by much. Anyway, time to read!**

 **EDIT (11/28/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency, added Dimos' tribe name.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **EDIT (2/3/18): Revised, took out the ocarina and better defined some of the elemental magic.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto.**

* * *

A man stepped out from the shade of the forest as the sun started to set behind him. He walked up to the chakra-powered voicebox that had been set up for him, placed his hand on it, and with a big and kind smile, he spoke loudly and clearly in Nem.

"Welcome to this years October 10th performance!" He paused as the crowd erupted into applause, and Hinata noted the lightness in this voice and expression. "I am Whispering Guardian, the current head of the tribe, and I will be guiding you all through the performance tonight. First of all, we wish to thank the Royal Family of the Land of Fire for allowing us to travel through their country as we make our way back home. We also wish to dedicate this performance to the Lost Heir, Prince Naruto. May he come home from his long journey to the loving family awaiting him." There was a moment of silence as all the people in the audience, bowed their heads at the reminder of the more melancholy reason for the festival. When Hinata looked up again, she could have sworn that she saw tears in the eyes of the Queen Kushina as Whispering Guardian looked straight at her.

After allowing a sorrowful moment, the Yaunkur leader slid a jolly smile back onto his face and continued.

"You have all been kept waiting long enough. We will start off by sharing with you one of our tribe's favorite legends, The Demon's Heart."

He bowed and moved off the stage, and the forest exploded with movement.

The forest looked so alive that it seemed as if the trees themselves were moving and swaying along with the steady drum beat that sounded from beyond. A small figure burst out from the leaves, wearing the most colorful costume Hinata had ever seen. The figure was covered with bright feathers and wore a mask over his face. The mask was streaked with colors, making it look like it was covered in feathers too, and its features were twisted and demented.

The boy leapt into action, his shoulders hunched and back bent, hands out like claws in front of him, knees bent and apart, and toes curled up. He shuffled in a sort of hop jump to one side, keeping the same stance, and then moved his shoulders up and down in sharp movements, all the while following the constant beating of the drum. He then kept one foot firmly on the ground while lifting the other and spun halfway, so that his back was facing the audience. Spreading his legs apart, he spun slowly and rigidly step by step in a circle following the harsh and wild beat of the drum. Then with one last twirl he leapt back into the forest. Hinata was mesmerized by his short performance and the whirl of colors that appeared when he spun.

Only a few moments after the demon left the stage the forest churned again, the leaves shaking and the trees seemingly twisting and turning. Then many men, women, and children came out of the left side of the forest, opposite from where the demon had disappeared. They were dressed in the clothing of simple villagers, but their faces shone with joy and happiness as they twirled and danced across the stage, people of all sizes dancing with each other, and some children dancing in large circles together. Again, all the while they followed the beating drum, which had become steadier and gentler since the demon left. They sang, or at least they seemed to. Their mouths were not moving to shape words or let any sound out, and there wasn't really any words or sound at all. Even so, Hinata felt a song weaving in the air, and in her very bones. She smiled a bright smile along with all of the villagers on the stage.

But then, the air changed into something sinister and evil. All of the villagers froze in fear as the brightly colored demon leapt back out of the forest. Hinata was terrified, terrified for the villagers even though she knew that they were really just some of the Yaunkur people acting as villagers. They were _good_.

All of the villagers scrambled away from the demon, and a few of the stockier looking villagers (plus some brave children) moved in front of the others and took up protective stances. The demon, instead of attacking the villagers like expected, bowed down low to the villagers and looked expectantly at them, as if asking, "May I stay here?", and in return the villagers looked disgusted, because he was not like them. Surprisingly, Hinata felt just as the villagers did, which was incredibly strange because normally she had compassion and pity for even the most hideous of creatures, and this one was not ugly at all. The men chased the demon back into the forest, never straying from the drum's powerful beat.

This cycle repeated twice more before the demon gave up on ever being accepted anywhere. He wandered alone for many years, as shown in his lonely dance on the stage. But one day, he came across a young girl lost in a forest. He gained her trust after a few minutes of a dance that showed a game seemingly like hide-and-go-seek. Hinata giggled at the cute sight. The little girl rode on his back as he took her back to her village. The villagers gratefully picked the girl up from the demon's arms. The demon finally became hopeful again and asked if he could stay and live in the village. And, once again, they looked appalled at the thought, and they drove him back into the forest.

The beautiful, feathered demon was alone for the rest of his life, and believed that no one would ever accept him, just because he was unlike any other creature. Many years passed, and when he was old and weary of life, the demon laid down in the middle of the stage and passed away. It was only then that the always present drum beat ceased. The wind blew the dirt (she wasn't sure how the Yaunkur managed to do that) to cover his ancient form, and he was buried completely. In the end, the Land accepted him, for she did not care that he looked and acted differently, or that he was not one of the creatures she had originally taken in at the beginning of time. He walked on her surface, lived, and was kind, and that was enough for her.

All of this Hinata got out of the beautiful tribal dance that was performed, even though neither the actors nor Whispering Guardian spoke a single word. Apparently many other people felt the same because the area was roaring with applause and she swore that through the water in her own eyes she could see tears in others.

All of the actors and actresses came back out on the stage for a bow.

The actor playing the demon stood up and removed the mask covering his face, and Hinata's world slowed. The boy looked her age, seven or eight years old, and had long braided golden hair, and eyes that were bluer than the summer sky. There was a big grin distorting the curious marks on this face as he bowed to the furiously clapping crowd, and its brightness rivaled the quiet glow of the boy's sun kissed skin. There was something very familiar about him… Hinata's eyes widened in shock and realization as she looked back and forth from the boy and the royal family. He couldn't be… and yet, he had to be.

Hinata looked again at the royals, and saw that the King and Queen did not seem to be surprised at all, and their eyes were full of love and pride. The children didn't seem to react, neither surprised nor glad to see the elder brother they had never met. It was as if they didn't notice the fact that he was family at all. Now that Hinata thought about it, no one else in the audience besides herself and the King and Queen seemed to act any differently. Just what was happening? Were they all put under an illusion or something of the sort? Hinata pushed the torrent thoughts to the back of her head soon though, because the Yaunkur leader started speaking again as the stage cleared and all of the actors went back into the forest, including the golden-haired boy. She could think about the fact that she believed that she had just found the most famous boy on the continent later.

"Thank you for watching that performance." Whispering Guardian said. "For our next act we will have three of our eight year olds show you some of the elemental magic that they practice. These three have recently finished training their control, and are eager to share their talents with you. First we'll have Fire Eater!"

As Whispering Guardian stepped back, another boy jumped out of the branches of the forest and took center stage. His coloring was like that all of the people Hinata had seen so far from the Yaunkur tribe, complete with the ponytail of dark brown almost black hair, dark eyes, and copper skin. He looked to be a bit tall for his age, but not by much, and carried a small, lit lamp in his hands. He nodded to Whispering Guardian and then all of the lights went out, the flame on the candle the only source of light in the area. Gasps were heard from all over in the audience at the sudden loss of sight. The tiny flame eerily illuminated the Yaunkur boy's face in the darkness of the evening surrounding them. Then the boy sucked his in his breath and the small fire along with it, and there was total darkness. Then-

 _FOOM!_

All of the sudden, a huge burst of fire appeared out of the boy's mouth, burning the darkness away. The flames then changed from its disorganized form into the shape of a great dragon. The long bodied dragon stretched from the boy's mouth and soared up into the sky, growing bigger and bigger until even the people in the audience who were standing a great distance away could clearly see it. It twisted around in the evening sky, performing a complicated dance before it burst into embers falling from the heavens. The embers fell onto the stage and twinkled like stars beginning to appear overhead.

The boy named Fire Eater had been standing in intense concentration puffed out his breath to manipulate the flames, but now he calmly walked to the very center of the stage, right through burning embers, _bare foot_. Hinata was in shock, for he did not seem to be in any pain what so ever. He still held the lamp in his hands as the embers sparked back up, forming a fiery inferno with Fire Eater standing in the middle of it. There were cries of shock and alarm from the crowd, even as the inferno was sucked up into the boy's mouth. Once again there was complete darkness, until the boy spit out, relighting the wick of the lamp. The lights all flashed back on again and Fire Eater, with a small smirk on his face, bowed to the roaring crowd and went back into the forest behind him. Whispering Guardian came forward to the voicebox.

"Thank you, Fire Eater, for that amazing performance you shared with us. Next we will have Wave Dancer come and show us the results of her training."

At his call, a young girl walked calmly out of the forest. A small, capped gourd hung from her belt. And of course, she had the dark hair and eyes of the Yaunkur tribe. Well, except for one certain member… but _no Hinata, now is not the time to think about him._

She walked to the center of the stage just as Fire Eater had done before, and pulled the stopper from her gourd. She held her hand above the opening and gently pulled the hand back, taking a stream of water along with her. The stream separated into two, one circling around each of her hands as they were raised straight out in front of her.

The drums began to beat. Wave Dancer gracefully twirled off to the right side of the stage, her eyes closed lightly as the streams of water moved from her hands to weave through her constantly moving legs. She moved quickly, following the beating drums, and danced around the stage. The water was always performing a dance alongside her, whether it was weaving in between her legs or swirling around her head. She continually whirled and twisted and floated about the stage with a certain grace and confidence that Hinata admired, and honestly, kind of envied too. And the entire time she had her eyes closed and a constant smile on her face, clear evidence that she enjoyed performing.

Then, out of the blue, she stopped in center stage and stood completely still as the small rivers of water moved back to encircle her wrists. The drums slowed. Soundlessly, the water started to expand, growing bigger and bigger, or rather, from what Hinata could deduce, Wave Dancer was drawing the moisture in the air to her small collection of water. Soon the water was a sphere big enough that she was able floated in the center of it unmoving, defying gravity, and somehow the Yaunkur girl was _breathing_. Hinata took a closer look (the byakugan was useful for moments such as these) and saw small slits on her throat. Gills.

Suddenly, Wave Dancer's arms shot out to the sides and her eyes opened. The water moved with her hands, forming two huge waves of water on either side of her and stilled, keeping the form of waves.

There was a beat of silence as the crowd sat in awe of the eight year old girl on the stage. It didn't last for long though, because soon there was a wild round of applause, and even some hoots and whistles from the standing crowd. Hanabi, who was sitting next to Hinata, was especially loud, which earned a look from their father. Wave Dancer had a faint blush on her face as she bowed to the audience, and the water evaporated into the air. She then turned and walked back into the forest. Whispering Guardian came forward to the voicebox again, and said, "That was beautiful performance Wave Dancer. Now we would like to have the last of the bunch come forward. The stage is all yours, Bright Soul!"

It was him who came out next. The one who looked nothing like the other Yaunkur, and yet had their same special brand of joy and happiness. It was strange to hear the name he had been going by for the last eight years. Bright Soul. As far as Hinata could tell, it fit him.

In the time that the other children were on stage he had changed out of his costume and now wore a belt just like Wave Dancer, but this one had two different sort of small sheaths, one on his left hip and other on his right. In his arms was a basket full of sakura petals. He went to the place on the stage where everyone else had started their performances, his leather boots silent on the stone stage.

Bright Soul placed the basket of petals at his feet, and then thrust his arms forward. A large and powerful blast of wind blew the light pink petals high into the sky. The bright-haired boy pulled out the contents of the two sheaths at his waist, revealing fans of the like a lady would hold, except these were crafted to be sturdier and weren't just for show.

He held one in each hand, the fans open, and with sharp movements he fanned towards the air where the petals were still falling, seemly controlling the wind to move the petals. The boy held the two open fans out in front of him, back to back, and then quickly pulled them apart, one hand and fan going to the right and the other to the left side of him. As he did this the mass of petals in the air split apart into two equal groups. He continued with many other movements that caused the groups to split more and more until they were there were five petals in each. With smaller motions he manipulated the petals so that they came together to form blossoms. Continuing to manipulate the winds, he formed many other patterns.

Then, he let the petals fall, and began spinning on the stage, the drums starting up again. His fans continued to whirl as he alternated between having them open and closed, spinning them around in his hands. As he gained momentum, the petals left the ground again and spun around, creating a pink tornado of petals all around him.

The drums slowly quickened, getting faster and faster, and the boy responded in turn. When is seemed as though the drums were pounding faster than humanly possible, they halted, and Bright Soul did too. The petal torrent burst apart at the suddenness.

He bowed.

The audience clapped furiously (especially the King and Queen) and the boy used the wind to collect the petals on the ground. The petals were placed back into the basket, and Bright Soul retreated back into the forest. Whispering Guardian came forward again.

"That was an amazing performance, Bright Soul! Thank you for that. Next we will have two of our young children come out and show you the recent spirit animal transformations that they mastered. Honestly, we weren't planning on having any of the little ones doing demonstrations on their own, but they insisted." He chuckled, and some members of the audience joined in.

A brother and sister came out and took center stage. They stood side by side with looks of extreme concentration on their faces. Soon, two little gray cat like ears grew on the top of the girl's head, and a long gray tail followed soon after. After a few more seconds there was a small gray kitten grooming herself on the grass. Not too long after her there was a light brown puppy too. The puppy wagged his tail and panted with his pink tongue out, and then pounced on his sister the kitten. She jumped away screeching, and a game of chase the kitten ensued for the puppy. Hinata hid a giggle behind her hand as Whispering Guardian shooed the two transformed children into the forest, and the audience clapped.

"Well, thank you for that demonstration children. Next we will have a performance put on by our wonderful ladies…"

* * *

There were so many other amazing acts after that one that Hinata lost count. She enjoyed every moment of it, and the break it gave her from the dull daily life of the Hyuuga household. But sadly, like all things, the performance came to an end. Whispering Guardian approached to the voicebox after the last act performed by some of the young men.

"Well, everyone, it is time for us to go. We have greatly enjoyed this opportunity and hope that one day be able to perform for all of you again. You were a wonderful audience." He chuckled lightly. "We would like to finish up by singing you all a farewell." Whispering Guardian himself stepped to the center of the grassy area and started to sing a deep but gentle and rich voice. _"Shalom chaverim, shalom chaverim, shalom, shalom! Lehitraot, lehitraot, shalom, shalom!"_

The Yaunkur leader then walked back into the forest, and all of the people in the forest started to sing with him, unseen by the audience.

 _"Have peace my friends, be safe my friends, have peace, have peace! Till we meet again, till we meet again, have peace, have peace!"_ Then they sang in canon, with one group starting and the other following, and finished by singing the first part together again. _"Shalom chaverim, shalom chaverim, shalom, shalom! Lehitraot, lehitraot, shalom, shalom!"_

Then all was silent, and the Yaunkur were gone, heading back to their camp. The crowd roared with applause, clearly showing their gratitude for the show, the royal couple especially. After that and some mingling, the Hyuuga family and many others in the crowd stood and headed back home, in whatever way of transport they possessed. Hinata was silent the entire way back to their Konoha mansion, while Hanabi was bursting at the seams with joy.

They arrived, and after addressing his family before they headed to bed, Hiashi excused them. But even after her mother and little sister left the room, Hinata stayed with her father. Something had been bothering her for a while, and it seemed that her father would be the best person to talk to about it. She hesitated for a short moment, and then said, "Father, I saw Naruto today, with the Yaunkur." Hiashi's eyes widened as he took in that information.

"Are you sure Hinata? When?"

"He was the one who played the Demon in the first act, and manipulated the wind."

To her surprise, her father looked a bit disappointed. "I fail to see how you connected him to the prince. That boy looked just like any of the other Yaunkur. He was nothing special." Now Hinata was confused. She had been sure that she saw him. Could she had just been imagining things? Hiashi's eyes hardened. "Go to bed Hinata. I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense."

The young girl quietly walked to her room, mind whirling. Just what was going on? She barely noticed when she sat down on the chair by her windowsill in her grand bedroom. The noise going on outside distracted Hinata from her thoughts though. With the opening performance over, the Festival in honor of the not-so-lost-heir was in full swing, and it would continue to run until early morning. Her father had never allowed her or her sister to go to the festival after the performance. According to him, it was too dangerous and unsuitable for ladies of the Hyuuga clan to be out and about during the festival, even if they had a guard with them.

However, for some strange reason, for the first time in her life, Hinata truly had the desire to disobey her father's orders. Something out there was drawing her, something so hard to resist. And after a few minutes, Hinata decided that this one time couldn't hurt. Besides, she felt that something special was going to happen tonight, and she needed to be there for it.

She went to her drawers and dug around for the most plain and average clothing she had, which, honestly, were still quite fine compared to an average citizen's clothing. Hinata looked at herself in the full length mirror by her dresser, and decided that it was going to have to do. She packed a small satchel with some money (not so much as to get herself targeted for pickpocket) and hung it over her shoulders. Hinata took a deep breath, preparing to do the most daring thing she had ever done, and walked out the door of her room.

* * *

 **Just a quick note on technology in this world. They don't really have things like TV, cellphones, or recording devices, and the things they do have are powered by magic or chakra. The voicebox is a small, square or rectangular box that amplifies one's voice when chakra is pushed into it, and some part of them has to be touching the box. For Whispering Guardian (Dimos), he wasn't putting the chakra in himself (it was some shinobi farther away), and he had his hand on the box. By the way, the song earlier is an Israeli folk song, and I do not own it.**


	6. A Failed Pickpocket

**Hey! Sorry this is a bit later than usual, but it's here so that's good, right? Anyway, thank you to the people who reviewed either last chapter or the chapter previous to that one.**

 **RaidanRam:** _ **Thanks for bringing that to my attention! I'll make sure to keep it in mind in the future. Also, your prediction about the spell is very close.**_

 **Okay, now let's see what Nato is up to, shall we?**

 **EDIT (3/25/17): Added in Yuudai.**

 **EDIT (11/28/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (2/8/17): Revised, added a scene in a tourist shop.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it.**

* * *

Nato was incredibly bored. He knew that the people in Konoha were still celebrating, and would be for a while. He could practically hear them from all the way in the camp! Everyone else had fallen asleep around an hour ago, since they were all exhausted from the trip here and then the performance straight afterward. But Nato just couldn't sleep! Something was keeping him up, like a tug in his gut. He had asked Kurama if he had anything to do with it, but the old Fuzzball claimed that he didn't.

The golden-haired boy turned on the mat he laid on in the tent again, trying to find a more comfortable sleeping position. He laid there for a moment, still, and then frowned, turning on his side again. He sighed in defeat. There was no point in trying to sleep, because it obviously was not going to happen anytime soon. He stood up from his sleeping spot and carefully stepped over his aunt, uncle, and two cousins. He opened the tent flap without a sound and silently made his way to the edge of camp, easily climbing up a tree and sitting on one of its higher branches.

Nato looked out over the small expanse of forest that lay between him and the sparkling city not all that far away. He could be there and back long before morning, including the time he would spend at the second half of the festival. The tribe would be none the wiser. Well, that decided it! Nato was not going to sit here all night and attempt in vain to fall asleep. Nope, he was going to the festival! And the small fact that he was not supposed to go out at night all alone (especially not without asking his uncle or aunt for permission first) was no problem. First of all, Nato was technically never alone (he had the Fuzzball), and second, he did things like this all the time. Sure, it scared his uncle and aunt half to death, but he always returned (mostly) okay.

Besides, Nato would do much more good out there in the crowded streets keeping his pickpocketing skills sharp (don't ask how he got those skills in the first place) than sitting here all night. Of course, he wouldn't be stealing from people because he always put whatever he got back… eventually, and tonight would be no different.

With his mind made up, Nato snuck out of the campsite and headed towards the glowing lights of Konoha in the distance.

The drums didn't protest.

* * *

Hinata walked down the crowded festival street, her absolute awe of her surroundings clearly written on her small face. She hardly noticed the glances at her eyes and bare forehead as she wandered the streets alone. There were so many different stalls and quaint little shops on the sidewalks, and Hinata was having a blast just looking at them. They were so strange and new to her, unlike anything she'd seen before, and the colorful, high hanging lanterns illuminating the streets, helped amplify the cheerful and merry air all about the place.

Eventually, she came across a storyteller at a dead end. There were flocks of little children sitting on the carpeted floor by the stool he sat on. Their parents stood nearby, listening to the storyteller too. It seemed that Hinata had come at the right time because he was just starting a new story, and it happened to be the one being told all around the continent on that very day. The story was titled _The Lost Heir_ , as the people named it, instead of something like, _The Tale of Prince Naruto_ , or _The Land of Fire's Missing Prince_. Even though she had heard this story thousands of times before, Hinata stood on the fringe of the crowd of adults, just opposite of the storyteller.

He began.

"Over eight years ago, it was announced across the continent that our Queen was with child. There were celebrations all throughout this beautiful country at the news of an heir to the throne. Of course, many of the people were worried too, for both the Queen and the unborn Prince. It wasn't that they feared that Queen Kushina was not strong enough to have children, no; she's an Uzumaki princess for goodness sake!" He chuckled lightly. "It was the fact that their Queen also happened to be a Jinchuuriki, and of the most powerful tailed-beast around, the Kuuybi. The Queen had many times proved that she was not the beast that resided within her, but again, that was not the issue. When a female Jinchuuriki is pregnant, the energy that is typically used to keep the seal in check is diverted to the nurture and growing of the small life within them. The seal would weaken and if not repaired in time, break, releasing the Kuuybi. And if a Jinchuuriki loses her tailed beast, then she is certain to die. This is what many of the people feared, and children, that is exactly what happened." The storyteller paused for effect as some of the younger members of his audience gasped.

"But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? First I must tell you of the events of the day that led up to the horrific end of that fateful night. It began with the Queen being moved to secure and well hidden location on the edge of Konoha for the birth of her son. King Minato came with his wife so that he could repair the seal after their child was born. Dozens of guards surrounded the site to protect the soon-to-be royal family. Unfortunately, they were not enough. The Prince Naruto was born without any problems, but just as our King was about to fix the seal, a mysterious masked man took hold of the young prince and held him hostage." Again, gasps sounded out from the crowd. "The man then presented the King with an impossible choice; either give up his wife and the safety of his kingdom, or let his son's life be cut off short at less than a minute." Hinata saw that all of the children were tense and wondering just how the new family would manage to make it out of this situation. Surprisingly, many of the adults were also hung on the suspense, even though they had heard this story many times before.

"And so our King did the only thing that he could possibly do in response; the impossible. As the masked man threw King Minato's small infant into the air with a knife poised underneath, and the Queen's cries for her son rang out into the chamber, he rushed forward using his signature _Hiraishin_ and caught the young prince. But this was only to discover an exploding tag on the blanket wrapped around the babe, forcing the King to flash away, casting the blanket into the abandoned and isolated building behind him, cradling his son close to his chest. The building exploded and a splinter of wood found its way into the King's leg. He barely noticed the injury though as he realized that he just gave the masked man clear excess to his wife, which is exactly what he wanted in the first place, or rather the demon within her.

"Our King flashed away once again, this time to one of the hidden safe chambers in the royal palace. He placed his son on the small bed in the room, making sure that he was safe and comfortable, before once again heading out to save his wife and people." Many of the children's faces lit up in anticipation of the battle that was to come.

"Meanwhile, the masked man used a special eye technique to take Queen Kushina away to a hidden clearing to extract the Kuuybi. The King arrived just in time to see the demon fox take its complete monstrous form, and his wife collapse on the stone she had been held on. He saw the demon raise its huge orangey-red paw and _BOOM_!" Everyone jumped. "The nine-tailed fox had crushed the stone where the Queen had laid. But not soon enough, for the King had flashed in to save his wife, landing on a nearby tree before flashing to the safe room were their son was sleeping. He did see one last thing though as he disappeared; the Uchiha sharingan pattern on the Kuuybi's giant eye. It was being controlled.

"The King placed his wife next to the small babe, and watched them for a moment as they slept. Then he flashed away again, intending to free the Kyuubi from the masked man's control. As he did this, the mad man possessing a sharingan eye summoned the demon in the center of Konoha." The storyteller took on a mournful tone. "The Kuuybi attacked this lovely city, destroying and killing many. The Shinobi Forces arrived in record time, but not fast enough to save the first thousand people and buildings that had been completely demolished. Despite all of their strength, the shinobi could do very little against the Buuji. That is until the Fourth Hokage appeared, for he had heard of the disaster that had struck his capital city. King Minato teleported the demon away, back to the isolated clearing, but he could not stay for even a moment more to assess the damage, for there was still much work to be done.

"The King appeared next to the masked man, and then a great fight commenced. The masked man had the strange and powerful ability to phase through any of the attacks that the King sent his way. However, our brilliant King managed to figure out secret behind the technique and injure the masked man, releasing his control over the Kuuybi. The mad man simply laughed and then teleported away from the city. No one has seen him since." There were some small cheers in the audience as the storyteller said this.

"Of course, the night was not over just yet. There was still the problem of the rampaging and confused fox demon to take care of, and the King had a solution, no matter how much it would hurt him and his family, especially his newborn son. But he also knew that is was the only option. He had to seal the Kuuybi into little Prince Naruto." Honestly, Hinata felt sorry for the King, for not only was his wife dying and his people suffering, but he also had to make an extremely hard decision. And then there was the choice that she suspected he and his wife had to make later on in the evening, the decision to let their son be raised by complete strangers.

"He flashed back to the hidden room, and finding his wife awake, explained to her the situation and his decision. Of course, Queen Kushina was horribly angry with him at first, but soon accepted that it was the only solution that would truly work, even though it grieved her to admit it. And so the new mother held her child close as her husband flashed them away to the location of the Kuuybi. The Queen held her former tenant down using the Celestial Chains technique that had been passed down in her family for generations, as the King prepared for the sealing, drawing the swirling designs of the seal on his son's abdomen. The babe laid on the summoned alter, all the while silent and still as his father painted, not wiggling one bit, as if he understood the importance of what was happening around him." The children in the audience were equally quiet, following the example of baby Naruto very well.

"However, the Kuuybi saw what was going on, and was not content to just sit there as he was once again imprisoned. He may have no longer been under the masked man's control, but he was still a demon. With his eyes set on his intended container, Prince Naruto, he gathered his strength, and then quickly moved one of his ginormous claws towards the newborn." Gasps were heard all throughout the crowd, including Hinata. "But it never reached him. His parents, the King and Queen, sensing the danger their child was in had jumped straight into its path, the claw piercing all the way through their middle." The storyteller's voice grew softer now. "They knew that they did not have much time left in the world of the living. They said their goodbyes to their tiny little boy, and then the King finished the seal, the Kuuybi's claw removing itself from their abdomens as it was sucked into the sun design. Father and mother collapsed on the ground, their eyes closing as sleep fell upon them." No sound came from the audience as they silently mourned, even though they knew that their King and Queen survived. Rather, they were grieving for the royal couple's loss.

"Contrary to their belief, the King and Queen did wake up again, and in the land of the living too. For all their wounds, they should have died. The medics are _still_ scratching their heads at the miracle. But they knew instantly that there was someone missing. Their son, the Crown Prince Naruto. When the Royal Guard had found them in that clearing, the baby was not with them. The mother and father grieved greatly when they heard the news. The first year after that night was spent searching endlessly for their child, but there was no trace of him, no clues to be found. Soon, they called off the active search. But really, even though they had announced him to be assumed dead, they never stopped looking wherever they went, and they never gave up hope that their son was alive.

"Almost two years after that fateful night of October 10th, the Queen announced to all of the Elemental Nations that she was once again with child. Months later a beautiful baby girl named Masai was born, and the Fire Country once again had an heir. Even so, no one ever forgot about little Naruto. It was as if everyone could still feel him out there, living, and so they waited, all the while celebrating the new princess. As the years faded by, so did the memories of the Lost Heir. As two more royal children were added to the family five years after the Kuuybi attack, they grew even dimmer. But every year on this day, all of the people in the Land of Fire come together in their communities to bring those dying memories to life again, and remember the Crown Prince, relighting their hope and faith in his return.

"So, children," he concluded. "Remember that night, remember the little babe Naruto, and keep those memories alive. Don't forget him, or he may never come home." The storyteller finished with a small bow to the applauding audience.

Hinata clapped for him too, but then she saw who was standing in the crowd behind the storyteller. She ceased clapping from pure shock, for she knew who it was, and honestly, how couldn't she? After all, she had just heard a whole story about him. It was Bright Soul.

* * *

Nato briefly applauded for the storyteller (it really was a good story), and then slipped back into the crowd. He looked around at the different stalls, and the people celebrating and having a merry time. After hearing the story, some things were a lot clearer. It was nice to know just what they were talking about, and why they did the things they did in this festival.

The golden-haired boy then thought about his pickpocket practice. He scanned the crowd of people, searching for the perfect target. It had to be a wealthy person (he wasn't going to steal–sorry, _borrow_ –from the poor, even if he always gave the stuff he stole back), and someone who was not aware of all of their surroundings. Then he spotted the perfect person.

A girl around his age with short hair so black it shone twilight blue, flawless porcelain skin, and the most curious eyes. They were pupil less, and looked like soft lavender pearls, or rather, moons. From the way she was dressed Nato could tell she was at least in the wealthy merchant class and thus the perfect target, but for a reason that he couldn't comprehend, Nato paused. She looked so innocent and pure as she glanced around in awe and wonder at all of the things surrounding her, unaware of the dangers that were also all around. If he had to say what he reminded her of, he would answer, 'a princess'. Not that Nato had ever seen one. He quickly shook his head to clear it, and then made up his mind.

He would give the money (or whatever he got) back right away, but he was still going to pickpocket her. So he made his way towards her (not in an obvious or suspicious way) making sure to pause here and there, looking at the different wares people had for sale, and checking out the festival food. Nato's stomach then rumbled, but he ignored it, his focus completely on picking a certain pocket.

The Yaunkur boy then reached the wealthy looking girl, and as he casually passed by her he quickly snuck two long and thin fingers into the side of her satchel flap. Nato found something in it and grinned inwardly. He had never been caught before, and this was not going to be an exception.

"What do you think you're doing?" A quiet but firm voice asked. The pickpocket looked up to see the girl whose pocket (or rather satchel) he was picking staring straight at him.

Well, there was always a first time for everything.

But when Nato's eyes reached hers, her eyes widened in shock, allowing the boy some time to recompose himself, and think of an excuse.

In the back of his mind, the drums quickened, as if in excitement and hopeful anticipation.

"Oh, I was just testing your satchel's security system, that's all." Nato nodded sagely. "I must say, yours is very fine indeed." The boy opened his eyes only to see that the very perceptive girl had not moved one bit, the same shocked expression still on her face. Nato started to feel a little uncomfortable.

"Well, now that I know that you're safe from pickpockets, I'll just be going now." The golden-haired boy turned away from the girl and began to walk away.

"Wait!" A voice called out as a hand caught his wrist. Nato turned back to look at the girl, and she quickly lowered her gaze to the ground as small blush appeared on her cheeks. The boy suspected that she was rarely this bold. "I-I just wanted to say that you did re-really well on the stage earlier this evening." Now it was Nato's turn to blush a bit, and he grinned widely as one of his hands moved to scratch the back of his head.

"Really?!" She nodded. "Thanks, Hime!" The girl blushed wildly as she processed that comment.

"H-Hime?"

"Yeah, I mean you totally look like a princess, so it fits you, Hime." While the underlying meaning of what he just said flew over the top of the boy's head, the even darker red blush painted on the girl's face was evidence that she understood.

Without knowing it, the two children's feet began to move them forward, so they walked side by side as they aimlessly wandered around the festival streets, while they spoke to one another.

"W-what should I call you?" The girl known as Hime asked.

"You can call me by my tribe name, Bright Soul."

"Tribe name?"

"Yeah, everyone in the tribe is given one when they little _cora cora_ , ya know."

"T-then what name do you call them by before they get their tribe name?" She questioned further.

"Well, we only really go by our tribe names when we are in public or with strangers. Oh! Also when we children are being _narcuu_ , ya know." He cracked a smile. "Otherwise we are known by our birth names, and we don't just tell anyone those."

"O-oh."

There was silence, and Nato's gaze wandered over the street stalls. He paused, one of them catching his eye. He walked towards it, looking at the different products for sale, and then laughed uproariously.

"Neh, neh, Hime. Look at this." He gasped, fighting off more giggles. Curious, Hinata glanced over at him. On his head was a pair of fake animal ears. "Isn't this amazing?"

She giggled. The ears did look cute on him. He pointed to the hastily crafted sign above the box containing more ears. It read, "AUTHENTIC YAUNKUR ANIMAL EARS: NOW YOU CAN BE ONE TOO!"

Nato fell into a fit of giggles again, seeming to find endless amusement in the sign. Hinata's brow furrowed as she tried to see what the joke was.

Wait a moment…the Yaunkur could transform into animals right? She found herself giggling too, and held up a hand to try and contain it. It didn't work. Soon, she found herself on the ground next to Nato, silently giggling her diaphragm up.

"Do you get it, Hime?! Do you?"

She nodded, and they both dissolved into another fit of laughter. When they eventually calmed down, Nato put the ears back and they continued to explore the small shop. It was full of other things, most of them clearly made recently and cheaply, obviously geared towards the tourists visiting Konoha for the festival.

"Ahh," Nato sighed in satisfaction, wiping away a stray tear. "Tourist stalls are the best."

Hinata covered her mouth again with one hand, hiding more giggles.

"Hey! You kids!" They froze, slowly turning around to face the large, burly man who was the shop's owner. "If you're not gonna buy anything, then get out!"

The Yaunkur and the Hyuuga quickly bowed, one stuttering out, "yes sir, sorry sir. We'll be going now." They rushed out of the shop, still laughing breathlessly.

The two children kept on exploring the festival together, occasionally halting their conversation to play a game or buy food. Many different topics came up as they spoke, but mainly they simply got to know one another. They asked each other all sorts of questions, including inquiries about favorite foods ("Ramen!" was Nato's enthusiastic reply, and the timid but sweet answer from Hinata was, "cinnamon r-rolls"), favorite pass times, how everyday life was for them, and if Hime liked ramen.

They had lots of fun together, so even when they started to fall asleep on their feet they were reluctant to say goodbye. Nato was about to head back to the camp when a shy voice stopped him.

"B-bright Soul," she started, "my n-name is Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga." The boy smiled and then decided upon something.

"Hinata, I think we bonded a lot tonight, ya know. So call me Nato."

The girl felt a flush of warm, and replied, "O-okay, Nato."

Still, Nato knew that there was still another thing he needed to do. He really wanted to see Hinata again, and preferably sooner than a few years. In just one night she had become one of his greatest friends, and Nato hated saying goodbye. Nato was determined to meet up with her again, and soon.

"Hey, Hinata," he began.

"Yes, N-Nato?"

"Do you want to maybe meet back up in the place where the storyteller was the day after tomorrow? 'Cause I don't really want this to be goodbye, ya know."

The girl smiled and responded, "I would love to, Nato."

This would not be goodbye. Rather, it would simply be a 'see you later'. Nato knew this when he saw the girl-with-moons-for-eyes light up with that small smile that somehow conveyed so much. He grinned in his special foxy way, and then, touching a hand to his heart, he gave one last wave to Hinata, and walked off into the forest, this time ready to fall asleep.

* * *

 **Translations:**

 _ **Narcuu**_ **– Naughty**

 _ **Cora cora**_ **– Children**


	7. Speaking with Royalty

**Sorry! I had a bit of a writer's block, but I'm all better now! Anyway, this is the chapter many have been waiting for… kind of.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from it.**

 **EDIT (3/25/17): Added in Yuudai.**

 **EDIT (11/28/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency, added in a scene with Yuudai.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes, some bilingual-ness for Nato.**

 **EDIT (2/11/18): Revised.**

* * *

Queen Kushina nervously paced up and down the halls of the private wing in the Royal Palace. Today was the day. The day she had been endlessly waiting for since that horrible night all of those years ago. Or rather the day that was second on the list of moments she eagerly anticipated. Today she was to be spent with her complete family, including her eldest child.

 _I'm finally going to meet him!_

However, they would not be reunited. Not yet, anyway.

This fact was practically the only thing that could possibly dampen Kushina's mood. Yes, she was unnaturally nervous, but happy too. Naturally, all of these thoughts prompted her mind to recall the conversation she had with the Yaunkur leaders the other day.

 _It was in the afternoon on the day the Yaunkur tribe arrived in Konoha when the royal couple invited the leaders to the Royal Palace. It was tradition to meet the performers or their leaders in the palace before the festival began. They were located in one of the reception rooms in the private wing, which were usually reserved only for meetings with very close friends. No one but members of the royal family, their personal guards, and those invited could enter the private wing. The only others who entered were the maidservants in the morning. Even the unshakable attendants weren't allowed in! They would have had the meeting to welcome the Yaunkur to Konoha in one of the public reception rooms, but Minato and Kushina had a feeling something different was to happen this year._

 _They were right. The moment they entered the room, Kushina instantly recognized them as the two she entrusted her son to. She had committed their faces to memory, and could never forget them. The two married couples sat across from each other on couches, a low table lying between them. The conversation started off in the usual formal manner, asking if they were well, if there was any trouble on the road, and continued that way until the usual pleasantries were finished._

 _Then the real talk began._

 _"It is you, isn't it? The ones from that night eight years ago." Kushina asked with certainty and desperate eyes. She knew that a Queen was never to act in such a manner, but just like at any other point in her life, she didn't really care._

 _It was the woman, Kahina (if she remembered correctly), who responded with soft eyes. "Yes, that would be us."_

 _"Is my baby okay? How has he been doing? Has he made any friends? Has the Old Fuzzball been bothering him? Has he been taking proper baths and eating enough? How-" Kushina was cut off when laughter erupted from the two Yaunkur tribe members. To his wife's surprise, Minato was also softly chuckling. She glared at him for a short moment, causing him to shrink in a bit and stifle his laughter._

 _"He's been doing just fine, your Majesty." Replied Kahina. Kushina smiled in relief before saying, "Kahina-san, just call me Kushina. I've never really been one for formalities."_

 _"Well then Kushina, there is no need for those titles for me either. To you, it's just Kahina." The two grown women burst into a fit of giggles out of nowhere, acting like little schoolgirls._

" _Neh, neh," Kushina giggled. "Isn't it weird that our names are so similar?"_

" _You're right, they are, aren't they?" They burst into giggles again._

 _Their husbands looked knowingly at each other. These two certainly didn't have any trouble becoming friends. The giggles quickly grew to a stop though and the solemn atmosphere returned._

 _"Kahina, please tell me about our son." Her eyes were wide and pleading. "What is he like? How does he act?"_

 _A sly smile slid sneakily onto the other woman's face. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?"_

 _"You mean he can be with us again?" The Yaunkur woman's face tightened in pain._

 _"I'm afraid it's not time just yet, Kushina."_

 _"But why?" There was a twinge of anger and disbelief in Minato and Kushina's voices. This time it was Dimos who responded._

 _"My wife is something like a seer in our tribe. If she has foreseen it, then it must be true."_

 _"What is it that is preventing him from coming back?" Minato asked._

 _"He still has much he needs to learn and discover with us before he can come back. It is essential that he know the things he will learn in that time. In fact, the knowledge he will gain with us in these next few years might very well save both you and your children's lives." The seer said._

 _How could they protest to that? "We understand." Said Minato after a short pause._

 _"Then what did you mean earlier?" The redheaded queen asked._

 _"Well, your son is playing quite a major role in the festival tonight. You could always say that you wanted to meet the one who performed so well, and invite him for a day with your family." Kahina's eyes were full of mischief. The two royals in the room were still not so convinced yet, and voiced this to the Yaunkur leaders. They had trouble believing that they could pull it off, no matter how much they wanted to see their son. This was mainly because of how distinctive they remembered his hair being when he was an infant._

 _"That won't be a problem." Stated Kahina. "Many years ago, we cast an spell over your son. It hides his more recognizable feature from all, excluding those who possess the tribe's mark, and those who are very close in blood. Although, if one were to look long enough at him with an activated byakugan or sharingan they might see through it." She added as an afterthought. "However, the illusion will break once Dimos and I pass away. "_

 _"You really think we can do it?" Hope flowed into the Queen's eyes as the couple sitting across from her nodded. Kushina grinned widely. "So, how about tomorrow?"_

As if on cue, Kushina heard the gates open to allow the carriage that carried her son into the palace grounds. She sensed her husband going down to the front to greet the boy, and her daughters not far behind. She took a deep breath, eyes closed tight, and then left the private wing to join them.

* * *

Her little baby boy was just as she remembered him. Well, except for the fact that he was all grownup, at least compared to the last time she saw him. He stepped out of the carriage, looking a bit uncomfortable, and stood before the front steps of the Royal Palace, unsure. There was an awkward silence as the boy glanced at the ground, and the two unknown parents drank in the sight of him.

Kushina noted that his coloring was just like her husband's, with the golden hair, blue eyes, and light tan skin. But shape of his eyes and the curve of his chin were like hers and many others in the Uzumaki clan. The three whiskers marks on each cheek were just as she remembered them.

It was King Minato who started the introductions, as it was obvious to him that his wife was unable to at that moment.

"Welcome, Bright Soul. I am King Minato. This is my wife, Queen Kushina, and our daughters, Princess Masai, and Princess Nami." The King gestured to each person as he announced them. "Unfortunately, our son, Prince Yuudai, was unable to make it today. He's quite sick." Kushina managed to comeback to herself when her firstborn glanced at her and their children. It was awful that Yuudai happened to be sick in bed on this day. She had hoped that he would have been able to meet his older brother too.

Nato simply replied, "Hello, your Majesties," and bowed, touching a hand to his heart. "It's alright that the Prince couldn't make it. I hope he gets better, ya know. I would have liked to meet him though…" his sentence hung off awkwardly. They could all feel it in the air.

"There is no need for bowing today, Nato." Kushina stated with a small, sad smile, switching to a less formal tone. The boy nodded, still looking a bit out of place. Then Nami, bless her, being the small, sweet, and ever-trusting three-year-old that she was, climbed out of her mother's arms and waddled down to Nato. Her short ginger hair bounced behind her as she did so, an exclamation of her excitement. She held out her arms and hugged Nato, the boy freezing up in shock when she did.

"Hi, Niichan!" She exclaimed. When Nato only seemed to freeze up even more, the little girl looked up at him, confused.

"Can I call you that, Niichan?" Nato relaxed as he knelt down beside the girl, taking her into his arms.

"Of course you can, Nami-chan." A huge smile broke out on Nami's face. She only giggled as she felt her older sister, who tended to be a bit more reserved than her, also come to join the hug. Her new big brother just opened his arms out wider to accommodate her too.

Kushina watched all of this unfold with watering eyes, a bittersweet taste on her tongue. If only she could tell Nato that they really were his family, and he the little girls' real big brother who had been lost for a long time. However, she also knew that Kahina was correct.

It wasn't time just yet.

Minato, seeming to have sensed his wife's trail of thought, gave her a warm and comforting smile. The two of them watched their children as the girls each grabbed one of their older brother's arms and dragged him up the stairs, past their parents, and into the palace, intent on giving him the full and _very_ long tour of it. The married couple followed close behind them the entire time.

* * *

As the tour of the Royal Palace finally came to an end, it was past noon and time for lunch. The little princesses led Nato to the gardens where a picnic had been set up under an old tree. The King and Queen handed out the warm bowls of ramen that had been brought out by some of the servers. Nato accepted it with joy, and to his surprise, the Queen did the same. He had never seen someone who had as big of a love of ramen as he did.

The Queen noticed the same, and asked, "Do you like ramen, Nato? Because it's my favorite food, ya know!" Nato grinned at this information and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it's mine too!" And thus a small competition began between the two, to see how could eat more ramen. The rest of the family merely watched them in bewilderment. Sure they liked ramen, but not that much!

It ended with Nato the winner, but the Queen wasn't far behind. They suspected that it probably had to do with the fact that Nato was a constantly hungry and ever growing boy, while Kushina was older and not all that hungry in the first place.

The group finished up the meal with some dessert (except for Nato and Kushina, who were too full to eat anymore), and then rested a bit to let their stomachs digest. It was not long though because the children soon became restless and bored, which led to the present conversation between them.

"Niichan," began Masai.

"Yeah, Masai-chan?"

"At the festival yesterday, there were those children who came out and turned into animals. Can you do that, Niichan?" Masai may have only been six years old, but she had inherited her father's inquisitive nature. She loved to learn and was always asking questions, and the performance the previous night had raised many new ones. She was determined to discover just how the Yaunkur did what they did. Fortunately for her, Nato just couldn't resist her puppy eyes, and quickly gave in.

The boy got up and moved away from the picnic area, the little girls following close behind. He stood in the center of a small clear field in the gardens, still in view of the King and Queen at the picnic (not to mention all the guards in the surrounding area). The two princesses watched with wide eyes as the boy's ears slowly disappeared to be replaced by pointy orangey red-gold fox ears on top of his head. Then his new front paws came to rest on the ground, and a fluffy tail grew. In a matter of seconds there was a small fox kit sitting on the ground, looking up at the previously smaller girls. He yipped happily, and leapt up, proceeding to run around the small clearing.

Masai and Nami wasted no time and began to chase their big brother-turned-fox around the garden, giggling the whole way. The amused parents simply watched them as they played, feeling that all was right for the first time in many years. Eventually the little fox kit stopped, and half transformed back into his human form, meaning he still had the cute fox ears and tail. The girls slowed, taking in the new development, and smiled mischievously at each other. They quietly advanced towards Nato, and then pounced. Minato and Kushina could hear his laughter and pleas for help as the girls tickled him without mercy all the way from where they were sitting.

* * *

Much of the afternoon passed this way. Together, all five of them played hide-and-go-seek, tag, and explored the gardens. But just as all things must, the day finally came to an end. Nato wasn't willing to end without a bang though. He had a plan, and two little princesses were in on it. In the early evening the three of them sat in the garden together, the King and Queen having been forced to leave a few minutes earlier due to an unexpected problem, making it the perfect time to act.

First, they needed goats.

"Kaka-nii, please!" Nami clung onto their bodyguard's (and unofficial nanny's) leg, unleashing her puppy eyes.

The young man tried to resist, he really did, but as he (and Nami) well knew, no one could say no to the puppy eyes.

"Fine." Kakashi sighed and mentally prayed he wouldn't get into _too_ much trouble. Leaving the three children in the garden with the regular guards, he quickly left and retrieved five goats from the Star Sector livestock markets in Konoha, and then handed them over to the children.

Immediately, the children got to work, painting a big number on each of the goat's sides. Well, Masai and Nato painted while Nami utilized the puppy eyes to swear the watching guards (and Kakashi) to secrecy. When they were finished, five numbers had been painted clearly on each goat. They were the numbers one, two, four, five, and six.

Nato then led the goats into the palace, and released them in the halls. The trio snickered as they looked for a good spot to watch the chaos that was about to unfold, and Kakashi sighed deeply, desperately wishing he would stop being assigned to the 'nanny' job.

The royal children took after their parents way too much.

* * *

It wasn't long before the first person found goat number five in the kitchen chewing on some old cans. She shrieked in a mixture of surprise and fear, causing one of the guards to run in. He valiantly restrained the goat, bringing it outside and onto the front lawns of the Royal Palace. Goat number two was found in library, about to start eating books, and number six was discovered searching through some paint in the art room and making a huge mess. Number four was a bit harder, but eventually he was found in the bathrooms.

The King and Queen, who had heard of the trouble going on, finally found the last goat, goat number one. They had a feeling that the three little children they'd left with Kakashi had something to do with the mess. Speaking of which, where was Kakashi?

 _Probably with the little pranksters._

On the front lawn they saw goats one, two, four, five, and six. They frowned. Where was goat number three?

Many more minutes were spent searching for the last goat before it dawned on them. There wasn't a goat number three! They had fallen for the prank set up for them by their children. This caused them to fall onto the ground in a fit of laughter (especially Kushina), all of other people on the lawn glancing at them in concern. They called off the search for the nonexistent third goat, and instead asked for everyone to look for the three little pranksters.

* * *

In the end, the three children were found in one of the deserted security rooms, gazing through the crystal globes at the chaos they had caused, cackling with glee. Kakashi was standing nearby, and at a glance from his former teacher, he shrugged helplessly. Minato sighed and began rounding up the giggling children.

"It's time for Nato to go back." The laughter died quickly and was replaced by sad faces.

"Wait! Niichan can't go yet! He hasn't seen Yuudai!" Exclaimed Masai.

"That's right! That's right!" Nami joined in. The two princesses turned their puppy eyes on their highly susceptible parents. They couldn't even last ten seconds against it.

"Alright, you girls can go lead Nato there, but be mindful. Yuudai is sick and probably asleep."

"Hai!"

Once again, the royal couple watched their eldest be dragged through the halls of the palace to the bedchambers in the private wing. Upon reaching the door to their younger brother's room, the three quieted down and knocked softly. Soon after it was opened by one of the two nurses in the room. He held a finger up to his lips in a shushing motion and then let the children in.

All three of them knelt next to the sweating boy in the bed, the youngest taking his hand in hers. "Yuudai, this is Nato, our Niichan."

The sick three-year-old slowly opened his eyes and looked at Nato.

"Hi, Yuudai. It's nice to meet you." He touched his heart. "I sorry that you're feeling…ah…what's the word…" He scratched the back of his head. "… _Musao_ , and I hope you get better soon so that we can play together, ya know."

The ginger-haired boy smiled softly through his fever. "Okay, Niichan."

Nato grinned back in response and tenderly brushed some of the sweaty hair off of Yuudai's forehead. Under the gentle hand of his brother and the watchful gaze of his sisters, Yuudai slipped back into a calm slumber.

The older children stood and exited the room, Nato being the last one out. As the nurse shut the door again, Nato heard one last thing.

"Come back soon, Niichan…"

He smiled.

* * *

The sun was setting and it was time for Nato to leave. He, Nami, Masai, and the royal couple stood on the front lawn together, the carriage waiting to take the boy back. Little Nami hugged him tight.

"Will you come back soon, Niichan?"

"I don't know Nami-chan, but I do know that we will be seeing each other again, _yochin_." Giving one last hug to everyone, Nato climbed into the carriage, waving to the royal family until the gates closed behind him, separating them once more.

As the carriage made its way back down the hillside and to heart of the city, Nato reflected. He had had the best time of his life today, and he couldn't help but feeling that there was something very special about that family. When Nami had called him Niichan, a warmth had filled his very being, and a sense of rightness. Never had he felt that way to that extentwhen any of the children in the Yaunkur tribe or anywhere else for that matter called him that. And the King and Queen didn't act like a king and a queen. He imagined that the feeling he got when around them was something like how he would with his parents. Nato really did hope that it wouldn't be too long before he saw them all again.

Then he remembered what was going to happen the next day, and grinned. He was going to see Hinata!

* * *

Kushina suddenly dropped her fork back on her plate, her mouth gaping as she realized something. She groaned and banged her head on the table. Minato and their daughters looked at her in concern.

"Are you alright, honey?"

Kushina looked up at him. "I completely forgot to ask Nato questions!"

* * *

 **Translations:**

 _ **Musao**_ **– Bad**

 _ **Yochin**_ **– One Day, Some Day, Eventually.**


	8. Meet the Yaunkur

**Hello! The internet connection and power has been in and out for the last week or so all around the city because of the African Union conferences and meetings going on. Well, that or what my older sister heard the cause was. She heard that a transformer or something broke, causing a third of the city to lose power. Whatever the cause, the only times anyone can really get on the internet in late at night or early in the morning, even at school sometimes. Anyway, here's another chapter!**

 **EDIT (11/28/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **EDIT (4/23/18): Rewritten.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters from it.**

* * *

"Lord Hiashi, we urge you to make your decision now. The Hyuuga clan needs a definite heir."

At that many other voices chimed in, their arrogance vainly hidden behind a thin veil of politeness.

"Keep our observations in mind, my lord."

Directing his steady gaze at the latest speaker, Hiashi spoke, his voice calm. "And I command all of you to keep my words in the forefront of yours; I have no need of your observations in this matter. My decision will be made in due time, and must not be rushed by hasty scrutiny."

Voices were raised again by his words, but halted when their leader waved a hand to the sliding door. "You are all dismissed." At the direction, the guards slid the doors open, and the elders knew their time to speak was over. They exited gracefully, and soon Hiashi was only one left in the room.

Laying his chin on his hands, Hiashi Hyuuga sat in thought. The elders were becoming more and more impatient. They urged and complained, insisting on stirring their patient leader to action, insisting he hurry and make Hanabi the heiress.

And Hiashi would, just not yet.

Before that could happen, he needed to place his eldest in a position that would keep her safe, and as long as she remained heiress she was safe. Technically, Hanabi wasn't, but he knew the elders would not let their chosen candidate receive the mark, not so long as there was still a chance for her to claim the title. She would be perfectly fine until the time for her to take the position of Hyuuga Heiress came. Hinata wouldn't.

They were running out of time.

A whisper of hope trailed into his thoughts.

 _She saw Prince Naruto._

Contradictory to his actions on the night of the festival, Hiashi didn't think the idea of the seemingly normal Yaunkur boy being the Lost Heir too farfetched. The Yaunkur had a strange, unknown magic, and as such it wasn't too hard to believe that some sort of illusion was placed over the boy, undetectable by the byakugan, foreign as it was. It was easily explained. However, how only his daughter saw through it wasn't.

It was nothing to think much on, however. What mattered was that if his daughter was correct, the prince was alive and well.

 _Hinata has a chance._

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

One of the guards poked his head through, bowing it. "Lady Hinata wishes to speak with you, my lord."

Hinata wished to see him? He raised an eyebrow. That was unusual. "Send her in."

The guards slid the door open once again, this time letting the small form of Hiashi's eldest daughter in. She bowed her head, the picture of perfect grace, and spoke. Only her voice betrayed her nervousness.

"F-Father, I have a f-favor to ask of y-you." The man frowned.

"And what would this favor be, daughter?" Hinata took another deep breath.

"I-I would like to visit a f-friend from the Y-Yaunkur tribe today. May I have y-your permission to g-go?"

Now this was even more unexpected. She wanted to visit with the Yaunkur tribe? The Hyuuga leader pondered his daughter's request. The night of the festival, his daughter had snuck out. When she returned late at night, he and his wife were waiting in her room to reprimand and punish their daughter. And they had, confining their daughter to her room until this very morning. But something she said that night gave him pause in this moment.

Hinata had said she was with a friend the entire night, and never alone. He knew it could have simply been the Inuzuka or Aburame heir, but the usually silent, illogical part of him said otherwise. And if the friend she wished to visit was a part of the Yaunkur tribe…

 _It could be the prince._

"Very well, Hinata." His daughter looked up, the shock on her face barely concealed. "As this is a private visit and I am sure the Yaunkur would be more comfortable without a visible guard, I will send Koto to look after you at a distance. Nothing less is acceptable."

"Thank you, Father." She bowed again, the small smile on her face clearly seen, and left the room.

"Find Koto." Hiashi commanded the guards. "I have an assignment for him."

"Hai!"

* * *

It was a beautiful day in Konoha, and no child of the Yaunkur could possibly hope to resist the allure of a warm, autumn day. The sun was shining cheerfully, balanced by the soft, cool wind. This was a day to be playing in the fields, forests, and streams, not reciting facts in the healer's tent.

Which, of course, was exactly the situation Nato was stuck in.

\Staring out the flap of the tent, the boy sighed for the umpteenth time. Nearby, Razi, his teacher and the Head _Sars'vaa_ , tended to the victim of an unsteady hand. She cleaned and bound the young man's hand with practiced ease, occasionally asking Nato questions.

"What was in the ointment I used just now, Nato?"

When she received no reply, Razi turned around, and saw the far off look on her only student's face. "Nato?" She poked his shoulder and he whipped around, yelling and throwing his hands up defensively. Seeing his teacher and not some terrifying monster, Nato lowered them again, letting out a breath of relief.

"You scared me, _Zirq'caa_ Razi!"

"If you were listening, you wouldn't have been scared."

"Sorry, _Zirq'caa_ Razi." He mumbled. "I'm just distracted, ya know."

She smiled teasingly, turning her attention to bundles of herbs lying on the mat beside them. "I have the feeling it's got more to it than it being a _Yazdan_ today. Something like a certain little Hyuuga girl?"

"AH!"

Razi jumped back in shock as her student rushed up and out of the healer's tent.

"I've got to go, _Zirq'caa_ Razi!"

"Bring me back some kudzu vine, would you? We're almost out!"

 _"Uur, uur!"_

Huffing, the healer turned to her former apprentice, who was now the only other occupant of the tent. "What's got him in such a hurry?"

The young man shrugged, and that was the end of it.

Meanwhile, Nato ran as fast as he could through the forest surrounding Konoha, leaping over various logs and ducking away from branches. He was going to be late again, as seemed to be a reoccurring pattern in the last few weeks. He couldn't make Hinata wait! Dimos always said it was impolite to keep people waiting, especially _ladies._

Whatever that meant.

All Nato knew was that he was making Hinata wait, and knowing her, she was probably getting worried because _Hasmae always was a worrier and-_

The boy slowed, blinking carefully. Where had that thought come from? He stopped completely, his mind focused on the brief thought that slipped through his mind.

He tested the unfamiliar word, or rather, name on his tongue, getting the feel of it. "Hasmae…" Although he didn't recognize what it meant, the name was strangely familiar, and clearly belonged to Kae, not Nem or any other language he knew. It made him think of something…no, a person, _a presence_. It made him think of-

-There was a tap on his shoulder.

For the second time in less than five minutes, the boy spun around with his eyes squeezed shut, letting out an involuntary shriek. He stood there for a moment, still as could be, as if waiting for the monster to strike. His heart was pounding loudly, almost loud enough to drown out the question spoken in Nem coming from the supposed monster's lips.

"Um, Na-Nato?"

Ever so gradually, said boy pried open his eyes, taking in the sight of the young Hyuuga girl (definitely not a monster) standing in front of him. Her eyebrows were scrunched to together in worry and a tad of confusion.

"Hina, how did you get here?"

A hint of a blush spread across her cheeks. "O-oh, um, I just saw you out here and came to m-meet you."

Flabbergasted, Nato stuttered out, "h-h-how?!"

Hinata was confused. "I used my byakugan and j-jumped over on the tree branches?"

The Yaunkur boy's brain sputtered, trying to make sense of what his friend said. She jumped on the tree branches? She _saw_ him? _Byakugan? What?_

Then the obvious explanation came to him.

 _Oh, right. Hinata's from a shinobi clan. They're up to all sorts of crazy stuff._

With all of that settled internally, he smiled brightly at the bewildered Hyuuga. "I forgot how cool you are, Hina."

A bright flush crept up her face, turning her beat red. Unaware of his friend's embarrassment, Nato grabbed Hinata's hand and began tugging her in the direction of the Yaunkur campsite. "Come on, Hina, let's go play some games!"

"H-Hai!"

Once again, Nato ran through the forest, this time with Hinata by his side. They didn't have to go very far, and soon they slowed as they reached the healer's tent. Nato gestured proudly to the tent, excitingly proclaiming, "this is the tent for the _Sars'vaa_. The healers." He added, seeing his the question in his friend's eyes. "I'm training to be one, ya know." Without waiting for her reply, he pulled her along to the next cluster of tents, and then the third, and the fourth, and so on until Hinata was thoroughly disoriented.

"And that's our camp!"

"O-O-Okay." She mumbled, trying to regain her bearings.

Nato looked at her with concern. "Neh, Hina, are you alright? Mmm…I know!" He exclaimed. "It's almost lunch time, ya know. Come on, let's go get some food." He once again began to tug his new friend in the direction of the _Fal'raa_ tent.

"Nato, did you collect some Kudzu like I asked you too?" A stern but amused voice said in Nem. The boy peered carefully over his shoulder, seeing Razi behind him.

"…But first we have some Kudzu to pick."

* * *

A basket of Kudzu and two pairs of dirty hands later, the children found themselves waiting in the line for the noonday meal. It seemed as though they were a bit early, as the line wasn't too long, and the huge pot still sat with plenty in it. When Nato reached the front of the line, the woman serving the food gave what Hinata assumed was a greeting, to which Nato replied the same, suddenly standing much straighter. As she handed Nato his plate, they exchanged a few words in the Yaunkur tongue, Kae. Then Nato moved back, breathing a relieved sigh, and Hinata found herself in front of the pot.

Suddenly, she was inexplicably nervous. She would have blamed Nato, but that seemed a bit unfair.

 _Why did he look so nervous?_

Hinata braced herself, preparing for the worst. However, the woman only smiled warmly at her, and began serving up her food. " _Bwevne_ , Hinata."

"He-Hello."

"I hear that _Coru_ Nato is quite taken with you."

Hinata blushed furiously. " _Na-Na-Na-Nani?!_ "

The woman laughed uproariously, the sound lacking grace of any kind. This only made the girl redden even further, to the point that it was the same color as an Uzumaki's hair.

"It's fine, _Coru_ Hinata. Your secret is safe with me." She winked. "I'm known as Basheera, but you can call me _Annis_. Welcome to the Yaunkur tribe." Basheera handed her a plate of food and Hinata bowed in thanks, a fierce blush still evident on her cheeks.

 _…Secret?_

She walked towards Nato, who was waiting outside of the tent beside the serving area. They ducked inside, and Hinata had to catch her breath. The inside of the tent was strangely beautiful; the light coming through the patchwork walls the tent cast a vibrant array across the space, and the decorated metal lanterns added a peculiar touch.

Just as with the line, there weren't too many people yet in the tent. There were a few scattered about on the ornate carpets, and Hinata followed Nato as he sat cross-legged by a wizened old man.

" _Rirn_ Sameer! _Bwevne!_ " He touched a hand to his heart.

The old man lifted his head in surprise from his nearly empty dish. "Oh, _Coru_ Nato!" The old man returned the gesture, raising a weathered hand to rest briefly on his heart. " _Nanaka tem?_ "

 _"Sem sazi! Agu tei?"_

The man responded, and the two continued talking. Hinata glanced around, her eyes eventually focusing on a large symbol on one wall of the tent. It was embroidered in gold thread, and consisted of two intersecting, curved lines, and the outline of a circle between them. Another quick look revealed that to be the only wall with the symbol. Curious, she turned back to Nato.

Just like with Basheera, Nato and the old man were speaking to each other in rapid fire Kae. In the time she had been distracted, the boy had taken on a pleading tone, and the man was smiling slyly, as if teasing him.

"Please, _Riurn_ Sameer?"

Hinata blinked at the sudden switch to Nem.

The elderly man sighed, playing the part of a reluctant elder. "Alright, if I must." He turned to her. "And who are you, young miss?"

"Hyuuga Hina-Hinata." She stuttered out.

He smiled kindly, and responded, "It's nice to meet you, _Coru_ Hinata. I am Sameer, one of the Elders." He touched his heart in greeting, the bracelets on his wrists tinkling as he did so. "Nato wants me to tell the both of you a story."

The boy nodded his head enthusiastically. " _Riurn_ Sameer is the best storyteller!"

"Al-Alright."

"Well then… How about the story behind _Yazdan_?"

Nato laughed. "That one's great."

Having chosen his story, Sameer placed his dish down on the rug, and leaned back. "Give me a moment to gather myself." He laughed. "Besides, I think both of you have some delightful lunch to eat."

Hinata jolted at the reminder. She glanced down at the warm bowl in her hands, taking in the sight of her noonday meal. She couldn't exactly say what the food was, but it certainly was colorful. There were several small, triangle shaped pastries, and a main dish of rice and a fragrant orange sauce. Picking up one of the pastries, she took a bite. Instantly, the taste of creamy, spicy potato filled her mouth.

It was _good_.

Nato, who was also digging into his meal with gusto, leaned over and whispered, "It's called a _sambosa_."

She nodded in thanks, and proceeded to eat the rest of her meal.

When they were finished, Nato left momentarily to deposit their empty dishes by the washing bin, and then they settled down for the story.

"In the age when the Spirits freely wandered this universe, there was a man named Yazdan. He wasn't the most remarkable person. In fact, he was just like any other." Sameer chuckled softly. "There was only one thing that stood out about him; he was slightly more pleasing to the eye than those he lived with.

"As such, Yazdan grew up believing he was the most beautiful two-legged creature in all the worlds."

 _The worlds?_

"When he came of age, he figured that everyone needed to admit this, and set out on a journey. He traveled to village after village, city after city, and world after world. The response was always the same. 'Sure…you are the most beautiful human in all the worlds, O Great Yazdan!'" The storyteller cupped a hand around his mouth and turned to the side, adding in a whisper, "'whatever'."

Nato snickered.

"As typical in that time, the common people didn't usually care about such things as 'beauty' or 'fame'. It took too much effort and they had better things to do. If Yazdan wanted to believe he was he was the most beautiful in all the worlds then that was fine by them. Nevertheless, Yazdan was unsatisfied. Sure, every human admitted his beauty, but what about the Spirits? After all, what was the admittance of a human compared to a Spirit's?

"Yazdan made his way to our world, Benazir, ending up in the shrine at Anusuli, the best place to go for an audience with the Spirits. After a long wait–and I mean _long_ –Yazdan finally spoke face to face with the Sun King, the Moon Lady, and the Land, Wind, Fire, and Water themselves. He asked them the same question he asked all the humans, and waited as the Moon Lady and Sun King glanced at each other.

"Now," Sameer interjected, "it is unclear of exactly how the Spirits stated it, but they too agreed to proclaim Yazdan to be the most beautiful of all humans, _if_ he could make everyone in Anusuli happy. And so Yazdan did just that. He traveled across the pillared isles of Anusuli, helping people in all sorts of ways, from delivering messages to babysitting children to simply offering a smile. You see, Yazdan was _determined_. If this was the way to finally be the most beautiful in all the worlds, he would do it a thousand times over.

"When he completed the task the Spirits gave him, Yazdan went back to the shrine and spoke once again with the Spirits. He was offered a deal. The Spirits could proclaim him the most beautiful or Yazdan could make everyone on all of Benazir happy too and they would also call every beautiful day after his name. Enthused, Yazdan took the second offer, and spent all his effort into making every person he met happy, whether they were from Benazir or another world, until his days were finally spent. The Spirits kept their promise and named every beautiful day of the year, _Yazdan_ , after the most beautiful human in all the worlds."

Sameer bowed his head dramatically, signaling the end of the story.

"Can you tell us another one, _Riurn_ Sameer?" Nato asked eagerly.

"Ah, _Coru_ Nato, I would, but there seems to be someone waiting for both you and your guest." Tracking his eyes, Hinata noticed that his gaze was focused on something behind them.

"As always, that was a lovely story, _Riurn_ Sameer." The two children turned around, taking in the sight of the tall, willowy figure that was this Yaunkur woman. "I'm sure Nato and Hinata wholeheartedly agree."

While Hinata pondered in confusion as to how the lady knew her name, Nato flung himself into the woman's arms.

"You're back, _Annis_ Kahina!"

The woman laughed softly at her charge's enthusiasm, gently returning his hug. "Yes, and your _Onnis_ Dimos is too."

Still hugging Nato, the woman fastened her gaze on Hinata. Immediately, an indescribable feeling washed over the young girl. She felt as if this woman knew everything there was to possibly know about her–past, present, and future. Yet, her eyes were also warm and welcoming, not hostile in the least.

"My name is Kahina. I am the matriarch of the Yaunkur tribe."

" _Annis_ Kahina and _Onnis_ Dimos were basically the main people that raised me, ya know." Nato told her.

Kahina raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the boy. "Are _still_ raising you. You are quite a handful and no where close to adulthood."

"Aw, you know you love me, _Annis_ Kahina." Nato smiled mischievously up at his guardian.

The woman sighed in exasperation, shaking her head in an act of defeat, but Hinata could see the smile on her face. "Anyway, it's nice to finally meet you, Hinata."

Somehow, Hinata got the strange feeling that she wasn't just referring to the few days that had passed since Nato met her the first time.

"Now come over here. I want to hug you."

The girl stood hesitantly, wondering where the sudden shift in conversation came from. She took a few steps, and then Nato snatched her in. He laughed cheerfully at her shocked expression (and Hinata could hear some chuckles from Kahina and Sameer as well), and all Hinata felt was warmth. Wrapped in the warm arms of the Yaunkur matriarch and her newest– _yet oldest_ –friend Nato, Hinata felt a kind of safety she had never felt before.

There was a pained huff, and the hug broke. Glancing back at Sameer, Hinata watched as he stretched carefully, the weight of his years clearly showing.

"Well then, I must be going now. I've spent enough time as it is eating lunch." He slowly began making his way out of the tent.

"Nato, why don't you help _Riurn_ Sameer get to where he needs to?"

"But-"

"Don't worry," she smiled. "Hinata will be right here when you get back."

Still unsure, Nato supported Sameer and started towards the exit.

" _Dirjat tei, Coru_ Nato." Said Sameer.

The boy nodded in reply, and the two left the tent, the eyes of Kahina and Hinata trailing after them. Then, the woman faced the young Hyuuga beside her.

"Hinata," she began, "I know that you know who Nato really is." The young girl's eyes widened. "I need you to promise me that you won't tell this secret to anyone, most especially Nato himself. It is imperative that he does not discover his true identity just yet. Can you promise me this?" Kahina's eyes bore into Hinata's.

"I-I p-promise." The eyes softened.

"Thank you, Hinata."

 _Why can't he know? Why can't Nato be with his family?_

Hinata pondered this as she waited in Kahina's company for Nato to return. When he did a few minutes later, the two waved farewell to the Yaunkur matriarch, and began the walk to where the other children were playing.

When they got closer, Hinata could see that they were all huddled around two sticks placed far apart from one another, and the little girl who was jumping over the distance from one to the next.

"It looks like _Inni_ Nila is setting a new record, ya know."

"N-Nila?"

He nodded brightly. "Yeah, my little cousin, one of _Annis_ Kahina's kids."

"Oh!" Hinata started in surprise, realizing she had seen the little girl before. "She's the one who trans-transformed into the cat at your performance, w-wasn't she?"

"She and her brother, Roni, have been wanted to show it off since they learned their _Tirne_." He laughed.

Hinata nodded, assuming the word _Tirne_ to be what they called their animal transformations. A thought then occurred to her. "Can y-you do that too? Tr-Transform, I mean."

He turned to her, smiling mischievously as his features turned to those of a fox. In no time, Hinata was running after the small form of the fox kit scampering towards the group of children. There, he shifted into a human again, smiling proudly at his newest friend.

She smiled and giggled sweetly in response. "Yours is so cu-cute."

He scowled, hands on hips, and faced Hinata. "It's not cute! It's _cool._ "

This only served to make the girl even more amused.

"I don't know, I think she might be right. Your _Tirne_ is the cutest I've ever seen." Chimed in a new voice.

" _It's not!_ "

The girl wiped the sweat off of her forehead, laughing without restraint. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say, Nato."

The boy huffed, turning on his heel and facing away from them. Another boy, looking to be around the same age as the rest of them, appeared at his side, and mockingly patted Nato's head.

"Cheer up, Nato. At least they only mentioned the cuteness, and not your girly-ness too."

" _Why you-_ " Nato lunged, but taller boy took off laughing before his friend could get him back. Nato chased after him, screaming, _"I'm manly, you hear me?! Manly!"_

The girls were too breathless from laughing to follow, and only could some minutes later.

Nato, having much greater stamina than the taller boy, managed to outlast him and finally give him a nice whack to the head-

-After ten minutes of chasing him.

When the two girls arrived on the scene, one lied panting on the ground, still laughing, and the other standing over him, fuming.

They broke anew into laughter.

"By the way, my name's Sura, though you may recognize me as Wave Dancer from the festival." The other girl spoke as their laughter eventually died away.

And now, taking a closer look, Hinata did see that it was Wave Dancer, and that the other boy was Fire Eater.

Next, the tall boy sat up from where he laid on the ground, and introduced himself too. "Nice to meet you, Hinata. Call me Inwoe." Then he frowned, glancing off to the side at his giggling friends (including Nato, pleased the teasing had at last been turned towards someone else). "Just don't call me strawberry."

"Do you get it, Hina?" The golden-haired boy giggled. "Inwoe means strawberry." With the new information, the pale-eyed girl started laughing quietly too, causing his friends to burst, until even Inwoe had to smile a tiny bit. Hinata couldn't help but wonder if her insides were going to burst from laughing so much.

She didn't think she had ever laughed that much.

* * *

Hours and much fun later, Hinata was exhausted but unwilling to leave the Yaunkur just yet. Being with them was the greatest fun she had in a long time. She had met many people (and animals, including the Nato's pet fox, Kiki, who liked to spend her time lounging around) and played tons of games. One of them–and by far the longest of them–was called Werewolf, and it was a chaotic game involving two opposing teams; the villagers and the werewolves. The villagers tried to turn the wolves into villagers, and the werewolves tried to turn the villagers into werewolves. They played the game in the forest and the fields, creating traps and plans, villages and dens. It was certainly one of the most thought out games Hinata had ever played, and hoped to play again.

The day she had spent with the Yaunkur was almost magical, and Hinata didn't want it to ever end.

As the children began their solemn march back out of the campsite, the lilting sound of a Yaunkur melody halted them.

 _"Tirmiai oni sam corr, oni sam corr? Ah-ee, yah, ah."_

At the sound, the three Yaunkur in the group of children perked up, wide smiles stretching across their faces, and they grabbed Hinata by her hands, dragging her with them back towards the center of the camp. There stood a young man and a young woman dancing together as they joyfully sang their song. A crowd on onlookers watched with tears streaming.

 _"Oh-o, Oh-o. Tir tei wyvan'na yaa sai?"_

 _"Ah-ee, yah, ah."_ The crowd sang in reply.

 _"Miriro, miriro, sam corr, an gostuf tirnant wyvan'na."_

And they kissed. Without hesitation, Sura burst away from their group and threw herself into the young woman's arms.

 _"Wysusc!"_ She hollered. Everyone laughed, and joined in to give the couple their congratulations.

"Nato, what just ha-happened?"

He smiled brightly. "They're getting married, ya know! That's Charo, Sura's older sister." He pointed to the young woman Sura was still hugging. Nato grabbed her hand once again, and led her to the couple. "Come on! I'll introduce you."

As they greeted them, Hinata couldn't help but wonder if she would be as happy with her own engagement, and if her younger sister would for her cry with as much joy as Sura did for her sister.

She hoped it could be that way for herself desperately, but hoping was all she could do. It was out of her hands.

Afterwards, the sun sat on the horizon, and it really was time for Hinata to go. The two children discussed meeting again the following day, this time in Konoha, and then Hinata gave her final wave.

She headed back home.

* * *

 **Yes, sambosas do really exist (and they are amazing), though they are usually called samosas.**

 **Translations:**

 _ **Uur**_ **– Sure**

 _ **Sars'vaa –**_ **Healer**

 _ **Annis**_ **– Aunt, Auntie**

 _ **Onnis –**_ **Uncle**

 _ **Coru –**_ **Little, used to address children.**

 _ **Inni –**_ **Cousin**

 _ **Dirjat tei –**_ **Thank you.**

 _ **Riurn**_ **– Old man, grandpa, elder, etc.**

 ** _Zirq'caa_ – Teacher **

_**Bwevne –**_ **A greeting.**

 _ **Nanaka tem? –**_ **How are you?**

 _ **Sem sazi! Agu tei? –**_ **I'm well! And you?**

 _ **Tirmiai oni sam corr, oni sam corr? –**_ **Where is my love, is my love?**

 _ **Tir tei wyvan'na yaa sai? –**_ **Do you wait for me?**

 _ **Miriro, miriro, sam corr, an gostuf tirnant wyvan'na –**_ **Come, come, my love, the road does not wait.**

 _ **Wysusc! –**_ **Finally!**


	9. A Day in Konoha

**Whew! This chapter is finally done! These last few weeks have been incredibly busy with different international competitions I have been participating in (for both math and computer programming), week long choir/band trips, and catching up in school after said trips. Anyway, this chapter was a bit harder to write, but here it is!**

 **EDIT (11/28/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters from Naruto.**

* * *

Hinata stood in the storyteller's dead end, fidgeting slightly as she quietly waited for Nato. Kiba and Shino, who had insisted on meeting the Yaunkur boy, stood nearby. The Inuzuka was playing with his new canine partner, a mostly white puppy named (rather amusingly) Akamaru. The Aburame heir was silent as usual as he listened to the humming of his bugs. Hinata sighed.

It was a few minutes before Kiba finally gave up in trying to keep himself occupied and came over to Hinata.

"Hinata, just how much longer to we have to wait until he shows up?" His tone had a slight whine to it.

"W-Well, Nato told me y-yesterday that he had chores to d-do this morning. He should be f-finished by now, so he could be here a-any minute." Kiba simply grumbled a bit and sat back down, leaving Hinata to slip back into her thoughts.

This morning was as equally strange as yesterday's was. Once again, he father let her go without any complaint. In fact, it was almost like he wanted to go and develop a closer relationship with the Yaunkur boy. But that simply couldn't be. Her father had never really shown any interest in either of his daughters' personal lives, unless it had to do with possible future husbands for Hinata. These thoughts were quickly shoved from her mind when a bright and exuberant voice snapped her to awareness.

"Hey, Hina!" She smiled softly.

"G-Good morning, N-Nato."

The boy was wearing his usual attire complete with the foxy grin on his face. He walked to her until he stood directly in front of the shy girl. He didn't even really seem to notice the fact that there were two boys, a puppy, and thousands of bugs in the nearby vicinity.

At the first sound of Nato's voice and footsteps, Kiba glanced up to see the shorter boy. He caught a whiff forest and earth from Nato, and a distinct wild scent too. Not to mention the smell of a fox. Kiba, with Akamaru sitting atop his head, walked over to Hinata, Shino close behind.

Hinata, remembering her two friends, turned to them, causing Nato to also look over at the boys his age.

"N-Nato, I want you to m-meet my best f-friends. This is K-Kiba Inuzuka-"the boy grinned in a wolf like way "-Akamaru-" the small puppy barked "-a-and Shino A-Aburame." The fully cloaked boy simply nodded his head in Nato's direction. The Yaunkur boy grinned at them and introduced himself.

"My name's Nato! Any friend of Hina's is a friend of mine!" The boy literally seemed to be glowing as he bounced on the heels of his feet, showing the other children just how much enthusiasm and energy he really had. But he suddenly quieted down and tilted his head a bit, looking at Shino curiously.

"Hey Shino, why do I hear humming bugs coming from you? Why are there thousands of little lives in you?"

Honestly, Shino was a bit surprised. How could this Yaunkur boy sense the hives he had living in his body? "Why? I am one of the Aburame clan. Our bodies are infused with a breed of insects called kikaichu." After saying this Shino was expecting for Nato to stay away from him from fear and disgust. But that was not at all what happened.

Instead, the Yaunkur boy smiled brightly and proclaimed, "that's so cool, ya know!" Hinata giggled a bit at this exclamation, something Shino noted to bit a bit out of character for her. Usually she would simply smile softly at something like that, but Shino actually preferred her laughter. In a way, it seemed more like how she was supposed to be, and for the first time in a while she really looked happy. Hinata was like a little sister to Kiba and Shino, so when they heard about the new friend she made they wanted to make sure he wouldn't be a bad influence on her. Shino was convinced now that a friendship with this Yaukur boy would be the best thing for Hinata. The Aburame child was pushed from these thoughts though as the other three children began to move on. He quickly fell into step with them.

* * *

"I-I suppose we should start this t-tour of Konoha with e-explaining the different a-areas, right?"

"Yeah, everything else will be confusing for this poor country boy if you don't." Said Kiba in a dismissive manner, causing said country boy to exclaim an indignant "hey!"

Hinata started giggling softly again while trying to reprimand Kiba. It didn't work too well so she began her explanation.

"The m-main city is divided into three l-large parts; the Sun sector, the Moon s-sector, and the Star sector. Each of t-these sectors also have three d-different degrees, which are the first degree, s-second degree, and third degree. As you m-may know, Nato, the Royal Palace is in t-the upper right corner of Konoha, and the sectors r-ring around the palace. The inner most ring is t-the Sun sector, which also happens to be the s-smallest, followed by the Moon a-and then the Star, which is the biggest." Nato nodded in understanding.

" _Jah_ , but what's the difference between the sectors? Well, besides being in different locations, ya know."

"W-Well, the first degree of the Sun s-sector is where all of the nobles l-live, and the second and third degrees are mainly w-where the rich people live, including t-the wealthy merchants. The M-Moon sector is where the middle class l-live and the servants of either the residents o-of the Sun sector or the Royal Palace who don't live i-in their master's home or t-the palace's servant q-quarters. The Star sector is where t-the poorest people in K-Konoha live, and again the ones w-with the most money in the s-sector are in the first d-degree, and the poorest of the p-poor in the third d-degree." Nato noticed that Hinata seemed kind of sad when she said that last part.

She brightened though and said, "but in the l-last few years things have g-gotten much better s-since the Third Shinobi War ended a-and King Minato came into p-power. The ruler before him w-was Regent Hiruzen Sarutobi, and even t-though he was a kind and j-just ruler, the war and t-the money it cost took its t-toll on the kingdom. King Minato and Queen Kushina h-have been working hard to help the poorer p-population since they came i-into power."

"They're great people, aren't they." Nato stated with a small smile as he looked up to the palace in the distance, it being the only thing that poked over the tall treetops of the ancient forest that surrounded the city. "Neh, Hina…"

"Y-Yes Nato?"

"I've been wondering…could you tell me how the Royal Family of the Land of Fire came to be?" Nato asked. Ever since he met them the other day, Nato had been curious as to how their family came onto the throne.

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino all looked at the Yaunkur boy. There was a distant expression on his face as he gazed at the grand palace.

"S-Sure." The group of children continued to walk down the streets of Konoha as Hinata recalled her knowledge on the subject from lessons with her father. "W-Well, back in the Warring States Period, three clan h-heirs became the best of f-friends. These heirs w-were Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, a-and Tsumi Namikaze. Of c-course, Madara and Hashirama did not know of t-the other's clan name. If they had t-then they would never h-had become friends, a-as the Senju and Uchiha c-clans were the greatest of r-rivals and enemies since the t-time of the Sage of the Six Paths. Tsumi did k-know though. She was known f-for being clever and intuitive. T-The Namikaze clan was and s-still is known for not only being a p-peaceful neutral clan b-but also for being extremely p-powerful too. Tsumi knew that if s-she revealed to her friends just w-who the other was, it would be d-disastrous.

"One day, the t-three were all sitting in their r-regular meeting spot, on t-top of the hill were the R-Royal Palace is now." Hinata pointed at said hill. "Hashirama t-told Madara and Tsumi about his dream, to c-create a place where there w-would be peace and no more e-endless fighting. Madara shared w-with his friends that he would l-like a place like that, so that he could p-protect his younger brother. And so a d-dream was created that day b-by three clan heirs. This dream they s-shared changed the entire w-world. But things c-couldn't stay that way for long. The l-leaders of the Uchiha and Senju clans f-found out that their eldest sons had become f-friends, and to them it was u-unacceptable. The leaders unknowingly s-set up the same trap for the o-other, and followed their sons to t-their meeting spot. Both boys and T-Tsumi, who also happened to b-be there, were able to warn the o-other about the trap. The trap failed, b-but the three children only saw e-each other again on the b-battlefield for many years.

"It was a-after the previous clan leaders d-died and the three heirs b-became the new leaders that they w-were finally able to bring t-their three clans together a-and create this kingdom, the L-Land of Fire. Right h-here in their old meeting spot t-they made their capital c-city, Konoha, the Village H-Hidden in the Leaves. However, t-there was still one problem. Who w-was going to rule the new k-kingdom? Madara and Hashirama d-decided together that it would be b-best for Tsumi and her f-family to rule. This was, as I-I said before, because t-the Namikaze were peaceful a-and not warring with any other clans, and a-also because they were k-known for being good leaders, e-especially Tsumi. They knew that if either o-of them took over t-then the other's clan would n-not be happy, leading their new k-kingdom to war, and that was the l-last thing they wanted. At f-first Tsumi declined, but she r-realized that it was the best way to k-keep the people happy.

"The kingdom p-prospered under Queen Tsumi's rule. M-More clans joined the Land of Fire, including m-my clan, the H-Hyuugas, the Inuzukas," Kiba came out of his daze at this, "the Aburames," the humming of Shino's bugs slightly increased in volume, "t-the Yamanakas, the Sarutobis, the Naras, the A-Akamichis, and so o-on. Many other clans f-followed the example of the Senju, Uchiha, a-and Namikaze clans, and f-formed kingdoms of their own." She paused. "D-Does that answer your question, N-Nato?"

"Y-Yeah. Thanks Hina." Nato looked a bit confused and dazed from the information overload that he had just received. It was interrupted though when his stomach grumbled, in protest of all of the talking and no eating. The other three children looked over at him as he grinned sheepishly.

"I agree with your stomach, Nato!" Kiba laughed. "Let's go get lunch! All of this boring talk has me starving!" Hinata giggled.

"W-Where should we go t-to eat?" Nato then caught a familiar smell coming from down the street. It made with mouth water and his mind one track. The others noticed his sudden silence and glanced at him questioningly.

" _Navri_ ," he started, "I know exactly where to go."

* * *

"Ichiraku Ramen? Have you ever been to this place before Hinata, Shino?"

"N-No."

Shino shook his head.

The look on Nato's face though suggested that he didn't hear the small conversation, as he was completely absorbed in the wonderful smell of the ramen coming from the small shop. The boy practically rushed into it and took on set on one of the six tall stools in front of the counter, his friends not far behind. One of the spots was already filled by one costumer wearing a short burnt orange cloak with the hood up, who was slurping up ramen noodles in a blur, a stack of four empty bowls on the counter already. The person quickly finished the fifth bowl and called out in an exuberant voice,

"More please, Old Man!" Nato's head swiveled to the cloaked stranger who sat on the stool left of his. A look of recognition dawned on his face.

"Coming right up!" answered an older voice in return. It was the man who stood behind the counter cooking, probably the chef. Nato barely heard it though as his focus was completely on the cloaked stranger who sat beside him.

"K-Kushina-sa-sama?!" he said with his mouth gaping open. The hood fell off of the person's head as she turned her head to look at the small eight year old, revealing long bright red hair with a green clip in it, and blue-gray eyes staring at him.

The Queen's mouth turned up into a bright smile as she viewed the four children who sat on the other stools in the shop. She certainly wasn't expecting to see them here at her favorite place in the entire city, especially not her son who was supposed to be packing up with the rest of the Yaunkur. Though really she should have since he was _her_ child after all, and an Uzumaki too. This glorious ramen just called to them. She herself had snuck out of the palace fifteen minutes ago to get some delicious ramen instead of some of the stuff served at the palace. Sure it was good but it just didn't compare to the heavenly food that was given at Ichirachu Ramen.

"Hey, kiddos! Want to try some of the most wonderful ramen in the entire world?"

Nato shook his head to clear it, and then replied, "of course!" The other kids just continued to sit there, their minds overwhelmed from seeing the Queen herself of all people at this small little ramen shop.

"Great, ya know! Did you hear that, Old Man? Another four bowls for the kids over here!"

"Right!"

It was only a little later when five bowls of steaming goodness was presented to the occupants of the stools. Nato took a deep sniff and was instantly hooked, diving straight into the ramen. Kushina was already almost finished with hers, and Hinata, Shino, and Kiba, gaped at the two ramen lovers as they themselves ate their ramen at a reasonable pace.

After five more minutes of this, they were finally finished. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata had only eaten one bowl of ramen each, while Kushina had added another three bowls onto her stack and Nato had started his own with four bowls. The two ramen lovers sat content as they called out together, "Thanks, Old Man, Ayame!" In those short five minutes the owner of Ichiraku Ramen had somehow managed to introduce himself and his daughter Ayame to the four children. Nato had taken an instant liking to them.

With that the five got out of the shop, Kushina pulling the hood back over her head as she did so.

"It was nice seeing you again, Nato." The Yaunkur boy smiled.

"Yeah, you too."

The children said goodbye to the Queen as she headed back to the Royal Palace. When she was out of sight, the four began to head back to the Storyteller's alley.

* * *

"I guess this is goodbye, Hina." The small boy stood across from her and the other two boys when they finally made it back. The girl stepped forward, shaking her head.

"N-No, it's s-simply, 'see y-you later', N-Nato." The boy smiled as he pulled his friend into a hug.

"Yeah." They pulled apart and Nato waved as he ran down the street. At the mouth of it her turned around and said, "see you later guys!"

The three children called out the same until they could no longer see the young Yaunkur boy.

* * *

 **Translation:** _ **Navri**_ **= Everyone**


	10. Runaway Spirits

**Hey! I just want to inform everyone that my update schedule will be changing. Chapters will be coming out at least once a month until my summer break begins, and then I will hopefully be posting every week again. Anyway, this chapter is a bit shorter than previous ones, but it is also an important chapter. Enjoy!**

 **EDIT (12/1/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

A small figure raced through the ancient treetops of Konoha's protecting forest, silent trails of tears streaming down her face. She couldn't do it anymore, acting as though everything was alright and she was happy. These last few days were the best she'd had in her entire life. She didn't want it to end. This was especially kicked into her after the 'spar' she had with her little sister in the afternoon yesterday. It was now early morning the next day, the day the Yaunkur were to leave.

The girl-with-moons-for-eyes sped up as she reached the boundary of the nomadic tribe's camp. Through her tears she managed to locate the centermost tent in the crowd of them and rushed to it, distantly hearing voices calling out to her. But she ignored them. All she needed was to find him, and then everything would be alright.

She fled into the narrow gap that served as the tent's door, and ran straight to the spot where she knew her friend was sleeping, falling onto his sprawled out form, and wept on his chest. Almost instantly she felt the boy begin to sit up, and she heard a sleepy, "Hina?"

Then the Yaunkur boy noticed the state his friend was in and immediately grew concerned. More awake this time he asked, "Are you alright, Hina?" This simply made the girl cry harder as she shook her head, remembering the events of the previous afternoon. She was not alright. Not at all.

* * *

When the five occupants of the tent finally managed to calm the young girl down, they asked her what had brought her there.

"I-It's just that a-after some things that h-happened yesterday I r-realized that I don't b-belong with the o-other H-Hyuuga." Hinata said quietly with her head bowed. Nato's concerned glance fell on his friend. Even though they had gotten her to stop crying, it looked like she could burst into tears at any moment. It made Nato wonder… just what could have happened yesterday to put her in this state?

"A-And well…" Hinata continued, "I just c-couldn't stand t-the thought of c-continuing on w-with the life I a-am currently living w-with the Hyuuga c-clan, especially without y-you, N-Nato!" At this the young girl raised to head to look at her dear friend straight in the eye, and Nato could clearly see her determination and sincerity. The other four people in the room, Dimos, Kahina, and Nato's two cousins could see it too. Kinra knew now that they had to find out just what had happened, though she didn't want to upset the young girl again.

So she softly asked, "Hinata, sweetie, could you tell us what happened between you and your clan? If you don't want to then you don't have to, but it would be easier for us to help you if you did." The girl shook for a moment, and then took a deep breath and began to recall the events that led up to this moment.

"It h-happened right after I came b-back to the Hyuuga mansion in the S-Sun sector yesterday afternoon. The elders a-and my father had m-me battle my l-little sister for the title of Hyuuga H-Heiress. I didn't want to fight her, b-but I had to. In the fight, I h-hesitated to strike my sister in a c-crucial moment and l-lost. The e-elders and my father s-saw me as weak, and m-my sister became the h-heiress." Then, if possible, her voice grew even softer. "But that is n-not what I am upset a-about. It was the fact t-that my mother a-and sister-"her voice cracked a bit "looked at m-me with those s-same hard, cold eyes a-as the other Hyuugas d-did. They had n-never done that b-before." She looked up at Kahina, Dimos, and Nato. "That's w-why I can't be with them a-any longer. I am n-not needed nor w-wanted there. And t-that is also why I want to a-ask," her eyes looked at them pleadingly, "may I t-travel around with a-all of you, and b-become one of t-the Y-Yaunkur?"

There was a period of shocked silence in the tent, until it was broken by two simple words from the Yaunkur's seer.

"Of course."

* * *

"Lord Hiashi! Lady Hinata has run away!" Koto burst into his clan leader's office in the early hours of the morning. Now, while most people were well asleep by this time, Lord Hiashi was still up doing work. The clan head glanced up from the paper he was signing, looked at the guard for a moment, and then went back to his work.

"I know." He said simply. Koto was taken aback. Why wasn't Lord Hiashi concerned about his daughter?

"What are we to do about it, Lord Hiashi?"

"Nothing. Just go back to your post and act as if nothing has happened, because nothing has." Koto kneeled, still incredibly confused as to what was happening.

"Yes, Lord Hiashi."

* * *

"Have you heard? Lady Hanabi was pronounced the Hyuuga Heiress, and rumor has it that the former Heiress, her older sister Lady Hinata, was so despaired by the loss of her title that she ran away."

"Really?" The other woman asked. A cloaked figure walked by them, catching their conversation.

"Yes, really!" Since the events of yesterday afternoon and the morning after, the news of the runaway noble spread like wildfire over the city of Konoha. The cloaked figure headed over to the shop with the sign reading "Ichiraku Ramen". She sat down on one of the stools and removed the hood from over her head, revealing long bright red hair.

"Good morning, Kushina-sama. Will it be the usual for you today?" Spoke Ichiraku, the owner of the stall.

"Yes, thanks, Old Man." Ichiraku turned to his daughter to make sure that she began on the ramen as he went to do the same. Kushina watched them as they worked, her mind lost in thought. So the shy young girl who was with her son yesterday had run away. She was kind of surprised. Hinata had seemed too shy and obedient to do something like that. But Kushina supposed that she was wrong. She honestly felt bad for the young girl too, after all, her father had forced her to fight her younger sister, and then had taken her title away. It was kind of cruel. No wonder she had left. In fact, Kushina was impressed that she had managed to put up with that stuck up family for almost eight years.

"I heard that Hinata ran away. Is that true, Kushina-sama?" asked Ichiraku.

The Queen looked up in surprised. "Yes, it is." She replied.

"Huh. How are the Hyuugas' taking it?" Kushina frowned.

"Well, their reactions were quite strange, ya know. Lord Hiashi, Hinata's father, acted like a kind and loving father who was shocked and severely depressed at the news of his daughter running away. He said that he wasn't going to send soldiers to retrieve her because he understood that she was upset and needed to be away for a bit. He also mentioned that if his daughter ever wanted to come back then their doors would be wide open."

"That is weird."

"Isn't Lord Hiashi supposed to be very stern and serious, a father who only sees his daughters as tools?" Asked Ayame as she joined in on the conversation.

"Exactly." It was quiet for a moment as that information sunk in. Then Kushina suddenly spoke again, her tone lighter.

"I am happy for her though. I think that she would do better without the Hyuugas holding her back, ya know."

"Kushina-sama," began Ayame as she handed the finished noodles over to her father.

"Yes?"

"Where do you suppose she's gone?" Kushina smiled.

"I personally think that she left with the Yaunhur. She and Nato have spent the last few days together." Then she brightened immensely. "They're so cute together, ya know!" She gushed. The other two laughed as they handed Kushina her three bowls of ramen.

"Well, let's hope that wherever Hinata is, she is much happier than she was with her family." Said Ichiraku.

"Yes, let's hope for that, ya know. Thanks, Old Man!"

* * *

Hinata sneezed softly. Nato, who was walking beside her, glanced at her.

" _Kuchari tei_ , Hina!"

"T-Thank you, N-Nato." He grinned at her.

"No problem, ya know!"

Hinata smiled as she looked off at the horizon and the endless land stretched ahead of them, full of possibilities and choices. She gazed at the flock of sheep being herded by some of the children, and the pack mules being led by a mixture them and the adults.

Even though she was no longer in the finery of the noble Hyuuga clan and instead in the traditional Yaunkur wear, she was happy. She had lost one family, but had gained another, and this one was much more of a family than the last. Sure, she had already been walking for hours and there was still a few more until they stopped for the night, but she didn't mind at all.

Of its own accord, her right hand reached down to touch the new four pointed star on her left forearm, marking her as a Yaunkur.

"N-No really, N-Nato. Thank y-you."

* * *

 **Translation:** _ **kuchari tei**_ **= bless you**


	11. To the Valley

**Hello again! I don't really have much to say, except that there was a small error in the last chapter. The Yaunkur did not have only a few more hours to Allisan. They had two weeks. Oh! And thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far!**

 **EDIT (12/1/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency, I removed one small (and unimportant) paragraph.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

 **Two weeks after Hinata Hyuuga joined the Yaunkur tribe**

Allisan, the bustling main port city of the Land of Fire. It laid on the eastern shore of the country, in the perfect spot for trade with the Land of Whirpools (the small but incredibly wealthy and powerful island nation ruled by the Queen Kushina's family, the Uzumakis), the Land of Water, and the Land of Lightning. There were also many other nations that were traded with from Allisan, including the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost.

The port was also a place of great diversity. People from all over the continent traveled to the city, even from nations that were not on the best of terms with the Fire Country, though they were monitored just in case. The nights were filled with dancing and festivities, and the days with hard bargaining in the bazars where traders sold their wares. If you were to simply walk down one of the busy streets, it was likely that within the first ten minutes you would hear at least five different languages besides the common tongue, Nem.

There was one language though that could only be heard in Allisan once every three or four years. This was Kaeyugen (simply known by most as Kae), the ancient language spoken by the Yaunkur tribe. It was around this time in their nomadic cycle that they passed through the port city of Allisan to board a ship to their island home. Yes, even though they were nomadic most of the time, they still had a place that they returned to and could call home. Which brings us to the small band of Yaunkur children trading their tribe's products in city square's afternoon bazar.

"Yaunkur Wool! Yaunkur woven-cloth, charms, and talismans! Only here today!"

There were four children; two boys and two girls. Both boys and one girl had rich copper skin, and brown (almost black) hair. They were, of course, Wave Dancer, Fire Eater, and Bright Soul. Though if you looked at the smaller of the two boys through the eyes of one of the Yaunkur, you would see bright shoulder length golden blond hair, mischievous blue, summer sky eyes, and softly glowing sun-kissed skin. The other girl had short bobbed hair so black it shimmered deep blue, gentle lavender eyes lacking pupils, and pale unblemished skin. She was the newest addition to the Yaunkur tribe, Hinata Hyuuga, also known as Pure Heart. The name had been given to her after living with the Yaunkur tribe for a few days. With them was also Nato's oldest friend, Kiki, the old orangey-red fox.

Nato stood in front the stall's counter calling out to the people on the street and beckoning them to the stall, Kiki laying down on the edge of the counter's corner behind him. Sura and Inwoe stood behind the counter, showing off and trading their wares with customers. The girl with lavender eyes sat quietly on stool farther in the stall, watching the other children and fidgeting every so often.

She felt out of place. Here were her new friends looking so confident and just _right_ , as they bartered. It seemed as though they had been doing it all of their lives. In fact, they probably had. It just made her feel so left out, lost, and unsure, not that it was her friends' faults. No, not at all. It was all _her_ fault. She was the one who was too shy to stand up for herself and try new things, and not good in these sorts of places. She was the one who was useless and-

A hand touched hers. The girl looked up in surprise to see a shining whiskered face beaming down at her.

"Hina, come and dance with me!"

The girl stared at the offered hand. He wanted her… to dance with him? She knew how to dance and in many different styles, as she had the training of a noble.

Hinata took Nato's hand, and allowed him to pull her out from inside the stall. Suddenly, she was standing in front of dozens of people, and all of them were looking at her, expecting something. She was deathly nervous. But then a tug on her hand brought her gaze back to Nato, and his blinding smile made everything else fade away. The two of them had no idea what they were dancing, but it was some sort of skipping dance with a spin. They didn't really care. They were having so much fun! Soon other people joined in on the dance, and the whole square was filled with people dancing. Even Kiki in her old age had gotten up to join in, weaving in between the legs of dancers. Many were attracted to the Yaunkur stall because of the dancing, leaving Sura and Inwoe with their hands full.

Hinata didn't notice much of this. She was too busy laughing as she skipped and danced, Nato's brightly shinning face the only thing in her vision.

* * *

That evening, after a more than successful bazaar, the band of four Yaunkur children and a fox wandered around the bazaar, looking for things that they might want. To Hinata, the evening bazaar was a dazzling experience. The colorful lanterns hanging from the stalls, the traders advertising their wares, the cheerful dancing music played by musicians ringing out in the streets, and the haggling customers trying to get a better deal. At that last sight, Hinata felt a little pang of longing in her heart. She wanted to be able to do that, just like how her friends did.

It was Sura who noticed her fellow female's glance. She stopping walking and turned to look at Hinata.

"Pure Heart," she began, "what's wrong?" The shy girl jumped a bit as she was shaken out of thoughts.

"Oh, i-its n-nothing." Nato and Inwoe noticed the conversation between the two girls and moved closer to them.

"Are you sure, Pure Heart?" Sura asked again.

Hinata looked a bit unsure for a moment, before she made up her mind and spoke.

"W-Well, it's just t-that…" she paused. "I w-want to learn h-how to t-trade."

The other three children brightened instantly at that. They certainly could help their friend out if that was what she wanted. Nato grinned at Hinata.

"We can help you with that, ya know. It'll be easy-peasy!"

Inwoe looked at his two old friends. "So, should we start with Old Man Glav? He's usually willing to help out."

"Yeah, he'd be a good person."

With that decided, the group, instead of wandering aimlessly as they had been doing before, set out with purpose down the busy streets. Hinata simply followed the other children, as it looked like they knew where they were going. From the main street of the bazaar, the Yaunkur children went onto the back streets, never faltering in their steps. Soon, the narrow street they were on widened considerably, revealing a bright street lined with more permanent shops than the stalls in the bazaar. It was a quaint sight. Just like in the bazaar, colorful glass lanterns were placed up on the walls of the shops, and flower plots were outside of each of the stores.

The store that Hinata ended up entering with her friends was a small one with a sign labeling it as "Glav's Curio Shop". What sorts of curious things would it have in it? She hoped there wouldn't be any _really_ gory things. The thought made her shiver. Sure, she had been trained as a shinobi since she was very little, and could handle those sorts of things, but she would rather avoid them. But to Hinata's relief, there was nothing of the sort. Rather, the tiny shop was filled to the brim with beautiful trinkets, strangely shaped stones, bizarrely colored carpets, and many other things. She was so wrapped up in the awe and shock of it all that she barely noticed Nato's call.

"Old Man Glav! It's us!"

There was a loud sound of heavy metals objects crashing to the floor, and some more small ones, before a hunched figure struggled his way out of the back area of the shop. The old man wore a long dark blue and brown rode, and he had thick white eyebrows set over his eyes. His bushy beard reached to about his mid-chest. He looked at the children, a confused look in his aged green eyes, before they brightened in recognition.

"Wave Dancer, Bright Soul, Fire Eater! You kids have really grown up in the past three years, haven't you? The last time I saw all of you was when you were tiny five year olds. And look at you all now, big eight year olds! How time flies by when-" he was interrupted by yip. Glav looked down over his counter to see an orangey-red fox happily wagging her tail. "Oh, and of course you too, Kiki! How could I ever have forgotten about you! Why, it seems as though it was just the other day when-" Glav was once again interrupted, this time by Wave Dancer clearing her throat.

"Actually, Old Man Glav, we aren't here just to see you this time. We have favor to ask of you."

Glav blinked in surprise. Usually that was exactly what the Yaunkur children came to do; simply say hi. And Wave Dancer was acting very old for her age with how formal (at least, more formal sounding than usual) she was being, and to an old friend of the Yaunkur tribe such as himself too! It must be a very serious and big thing that they were asking for.

"Go ahead and ask."

Then Fire Eater took over from there. "We have a friend with us who just joined the Yaunkur tribe and she wants to learn how to barter. We were wondering if you could let us teach her by having her practice on you."

"Of course! Now where is this friend of yours?" Glav began to look around the room in search of the girl. Then a timid voice reached his ears.

"Umm…I'm r-right here M-Mister Glav." The elderly man looked down to see the small lavender-eyed girl shyly swaying next to Bright Soul.

He asked gently, "What's your name?" The girl looked down and blushed.

"P-Pure Heart." Glav smiled. He could already see how she had earned that name.

"Is there anything here that you want to trade for?" Pure Heart glanced around the room, before moving to one corner in the room. She lifted up a tarnished but fancy helmet on a shelf, and picked something up. Pure Heart turned back to look at the old man, revealing a small crescent shaped gray stone marred with a few microscopic craters on a leather cord. Glav was surprised…no, rather he was _shocked_ that the girl had managed to find that necklace of all things in the massive clutter.

"Is that what you want?" She nodded, and then handed the necklace to him.

"Well then, let me tell you a bit about that stone. Many years ago, a woman came to sell it to me. She claimed that it had fallen from the sky on the night of a full moon many centuries ago. Her ancestors had found it, and passed it down in the family until it came to her. Her family had grown incredibly poor though throughout the years, and she had no choice but to sell it to me to get some food to feed her family. So I gave her some gold for that stone. It has been with me even since, and no one has ever wanted to buy it, as they see it only as a piece of rock. But it's not, I can certainly tell you that. Every full moon, it shines a soft silver, just like the moon. It's not ordinary, that's for sure." After telling the stone's story, Glav's eyes, which had grown misty and far, sharpened once again.

"I just want you to know that it will not be cheap."

"I u-understand."

"So then, shall we begin? What are you willing to trade for this stone? Remember, it doesn't have to be something that I could sell in this shop. I could simply be something that I may need or want for myself. " Pure Heart looked down, unsure of what she could offer. Then Bright Soul, whose mind had been wandering off for a while now, suddenly snapped back to attention.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to give this to you earlier." The boy passed over the satchel he had been carrying to his friend. She rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out long length of finely woven blue and brown woolen cloth. From what Glav could see, it shimmered slightly too. It was truly a fine piece of work. Pure Heart held the cloth out to him.

"Well," began the elderly man, "I have been needing cloth for some new robes, and that is beautiful cloth, but does it really amount to the worth of a glowing stone that fell from the sky? I'll be needing a bit more."

Now usually Glav would be perfectly fine with a deal like the one he was being offered, but he was supposed to help teach this child how to trade. He noticed that that the girl looked back at Bright Soul uncertainly. The boy nodded encouragement to her in return. Pure Heart took a deep breath before diving back into the satchel. After a bit more searching, she brought out a small folded white cloth. Unfolding it, she revealed some small red heart shaped leaves.

Glav recognized them to be habre herbs, leaves that came from a plant rare in the Land of Fire, but native to the Land of Earth. And considering the relations the two countries had at the moment, it was an incredibly rare sight in the Fire Country. The herb was important in healing, as it was not only a pain reliever but also a good antidote for a common but often fatal poison. How could the Yaunkur tribe have managed to get their hands on some habre? From the passive expressions of the other more experienced traders in the room, it seemed as though the Yaunkur possibly had much more habre than they were showing. But still, Glav knew he would have to continue to push Pure Heart.

"Sorry, still not enough." He saw the girl frown slightly, and then reach back for the bag. That was when Fire Eater spoke up.

"Pure Heart, if you like the deal as it is, then push for it, and if that doesn't work then simply walk away."

"O-Okay." The pale-eyed girl turned to face Glav again. "This is a-all that I am o-offering for t-the stone."

"I still don't think that it's enough."

"I-If you say s-so." The girl was about to put the two items back into her bag, when Glav stopped her with a smile.

"Well Pure Heart, it seems as though you have just completed your first trade." Shocked eyes looked up at him.

"R-Really?" Glav nodded. He held out his hands and the girl placed the cloth and herbs in them, and then he gave the necklace to her in return.

"Thank y-you." He smiled again as she placed the leather cord around the neck with the stone resting on her chest, and then called out four children and one fox as they went out the door.

"Make sure to visit the next time you're all in town again!"

"We will!"

* * *

The next morning, the entire Yaunkur tribe embarked on the last leg of their journey on two big ships, fitting about fifty to a hundred people each. If all went according to schedule, they would be arriving on the large island of Anusuli in a few days.

Only a few hours had passed on the boat when Hinata came to Nato with a question.

"Why a-are we g-going to Anusuli?" Nato stared back at her, confused.

"Why wouldn't we be going to Anusuli?" Then he remembered.

"Oh, right. I keep forgetting that you only joined the tribe a week and a bit ago. It feels as if I've know you my entire life!" Nato exclaimed. "Anyway, Anusuli is our home, if we had to call any place that. The name 'Anusuli' means 'the Land's heart' in Kae. You know about the cycle we have, right Hina?" She nodded. "So that island is the place we return to at the end of it, and we stay there for a year to prepare things to sell when we go out into the elemental continent again." Hinata nodded slowly, deep in thought. Then she asked,

"W-What is Anusuli l-like?" Nato responded with great excitement and enthusiasm.

"Well, you see, it has these _really_ high cliffs, and…"

* * *

The two ships docked at the small harbor in the cove on the island. Now that Hinata was up close, the place was truly an amazing sight. Except in the cove where their ships were docked, there was no beach. The waves crashed against high cliffs that lead out the ring of forest-covered mountains that surrounded the valley. She knew that small bit of information from what Nato had told her.

Once the ramp to the dock was secured, the Yaunkur tribe began to disembark the ships. Well, except for some of the children who had jumped into the water before the ships fully docked. They simply climbed up onto the dock using the ladders. Hinata ran out of the ship with Nato (who had stayed with Hinata rather than diving in as he usually did), ready to explore the island.

However, the moment that all of the Yaunkurs' feet hit the sandy beach, a gentle but strong feminine voice rung out from the mountains. What the voice said shocked the entire Yaunkur tribe. At least, all but three. She had said,

"Welcome back, my children. And welcome home, Spirit of the Moon."


	12. Sun and Moon

**Hey! The end of the school year is quickly approaching. Yay! There's not much else to say really, except that this first book is more than a third of the way through, and if you have any questions, just ask me and I will be happy to answer them (unless the answer is a major spoiler of course).**

 **EDIT (12/1/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency, fixed up some errors in the Spirit story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Moon Spirit? What did that mean? Hinata looked around at the other Yaunkur on the beach, seeing the shock and joy printed on each face, both young and old. Just what was going on? A hand touched hers, and Hinata turned around to see a grinning Nato. Unlike everyone else (except for Kahina-san and Dimos-san), he didn't look surprised at all. The boy nodded towards to large expanse of forest, and began to lead Hinata into it. As she was still in shock, she didn't resist at all as they raced through the trees.

Soon, the two children stopped in front of the opening of a large cave, the walls of it covered in light green moss. Hinata noticed through her daze that it wasn't simply a cave, but the tunnel that led to the other side of the ring of mountains, or at least that was what Nato had told her. Then Nato led her into the dark tunnel at a slow pace, and there was a sudden loss of light. In that brief moment, Hinata felt a bit frightened, but the warmth of Nato's hand, and the soft golden coming off of his skin reminded her that she was not alone. Then, the lights appeared. It wasn't like that of the bright sun, or even the soft moon, but rather it was as if there were thousands of blue stars living on the ceiling of the natural cold stone tunnel. What were they?

Nato noticed Hinata's curious and awed gaze at the lights. For the first time since they got off of the ship, he spoke to her.

"Those are glowworms."

"R-Really?" He nodded. Then Hinata remembered what had happened earlier.

"Who w-was the o-one who spoke e-earlier?" With the faint light from the glowworms, and Nato's softly glowing skin, Hinata saw a small smile make its way onto his face.

"That was her, the Land." He sounded so happy when he said that, that Hinata herself wanted to know just who she was.

"W-Who is t-the Land? And w-what did she m-mean when s-she called me 'M-Moon Spirit'?" Nato was quiet for a moment and pale-eyed girl could see a thoughtful expression on his glowing face, as if he was unsure of how to respond.

"Well, the easiest way to answer that is to start from the very beginning, even before the long forgotten age when the Spirits freely roamed this universe." Hinata noticed that his eyes were slightly sad when he said that last bit. "In the beginning, there was nothing. There were no worlds, and no life. There wasn't even light, or darkness. Only nothing. But then, something happened. The light and the darkness came to be, and were separated into two beings, and then another being of light came after. Those three were the first Spirits." Nato's voice grew distant, as if remembering something bittersweet. "However, even then, nothing happened for a long time, until suddenly, and no one knows just how, there was _something_. And that something grew until there was one small universe, containing hundreds of worlds. Then two things happened at once. Life began on a few of the worlds, and the other Spirits came into being." Nato looked over to receive a confused glance from Hinata.

"Oh, right. The Spirits are… well… it's kind of hard to explain. I guess you can say that they are the souls of a natural thing, like the Fire Spirit and the Ocean Spirit, or the Land, or the Sun Spirit and the Moon Spirit. But it is not like every river and every solar system's sun has its own Spirit. There is only one Sun Spirit, just as there is only one Land, and one Moon Spirit. They simply live in many places at once all over the multiverse. "

"W-Wait, I thought you s-said there was o-only one u-universe."

"After the original one, our universe, many more came into being." Having received a nod of understanding from his companion, Nato continued. "The Spirits watched over the growing universes, with special attention on those few containing life. They learned the extent of their abilities and trained them. They also helped these worlds grow and develop using their powers. This went on for billions, maybe even trillions of years, until one day, the Spirits found a strange new creature that had come into being on one of the few planets with life. They were different from all others in the multiverse, and closer to being like the Spirits than any other being that came before. This was because they were the only ones besides the Spirits that had a high level of intelligence. Of course, these creatures were humans.

"The Spirits took an immediate liking to the humans. They taught them about themselves, other worlds, chakra and similar energies, and so many other things. Each of the Spirits even took up their own roles in protecting and teaching the human race. The Tree Spirit and the Land carried verbal and emotion based messages from one human to another, the Ocean Spirit and River Spirit assured safe passage for boats and a steady supply of fish, the Star Spirit and Wind Spirit guided sailors home quickly, and the Land helped the crops growing on her surface to be healthy and grow quickly. The Snow Spirit provided beautiful flakes of ice in the winter for all to enjoy, and piled up high when the children wished to play. And some of the most important jobs belonged to the Sun Spirit and the Moon Spirit.

"The Sun Spirit shone brightly during the day, providing the world with light and warmth and helping in growing the humans' crops. The Moon Spirit was a soft and gentle guide during the dark hours of the night, lighting the path to bring humans safely home, and revealing all truth with her moonbeams until the Sun Spirit rose to chase the shadows away."

"W-What do y-you mean by 'revealing a-all truth with her l-light'?" asked Hinata.

"Many things happen in the night. People believe they are hidden by the darkness that night possesses. So they did things that they would never do during the blinding bright hours of the day, like committing murders, stealing, kidnapping, and so many other awful things. But they always forget that there is someone who always sees them, and reveals them to the rest of the world. The Moon Spirit."

"But why w-would humans d-do all of those h-horrible things in t-the first place?"

"Well, it has to do with the fact that the light cannot exist without the dark. They go hand in hand. No matter how hard the Spirits tried, they couldn't keep the darkness away forever. It would always come back. And in return, the darkness could never get rid of the Spirits and the light. It's just the same with joy and peace. You cannot know truly know what joy is, without experiencing sadness too, and you cannot learn to love and truly appreciate peace without having known war." As he said this, Hinata noticed that his sky blue eyes were not those of an eight-year-old boy. Rather, they belonged to an ancient being that had lived for millions upon billions of years, and had lived through all kinds of horrors and survived. But just as quickly as those old eyes came, they disappeared.

"Anyway," Nato continued, "things were like that for hundreds of years, and the human population grew. Eventually, the Spirits taught them a technique that would allow the humans to travel between different worlds and universes. So the human species spread across many universes in the space of a few decades. That was when the Era of Spirits began to come to an end.

"Centuries after the humans migrated to other universes, the humans in different worlds stopped speaking to one another. No one really knows why. And after that, the transfer technique that allowed travel in between universes was lost. The humans in our world, the original world, forgot about the Spirits. In that time, the Spirits discovered that because they gave so much of themselves up for the humans, they now relied on them. They had little to no power in those universes whose people no longer believed in the Spirits, and could not got there either."

"I-If that is what h-happened in o-our universe, then h-how does the Land come here?"

"It was because of the Yaunkur, of course! The Yaunkur have always been a nomadic tribe that is close to the Spirits, especially the Land. They were eventually the only ones who remembered and still believed in the Spirits here. Because of this, the Spirits were not completely powerless in this universe." Nato laughed. "And that was a really good thing, because if they had been completely cast out from this universe, the original universe, they would have died.

"So, sometime passed like this, with the Yaunkur being the only believers and the Spirits basically banished from this universe. But one day, an old Yaunkur seer had a vision. He saw a great darkness coming to the original world, a darkness that would defy the laws of the universe and snuff out the light forever, casting all people into despair and darkness. After being told of the vision, the Spirits came together in a council. It was eventually decided that the best way to counter what would happen in the future was to send the Sun Spirit and the Moon Spirit, the two greatest givers of light among the Spirits, to deal with it when the time came. Of course though, how were they supposed to do that? They had little power the original universe. There was only one thing that they could do. They went to sleep."

"T-They went to sleep? B-But what about t-the humans?"

"They didn't just go to sleep because they were tired. No, it was part of their plan. They knew that there was nothing that they could do at that time, so they slept to store up enough power to send the Sun Spirit and Moon Spirit to our universe when the darkness made their first move. Over eight years ago, they put the Sun Spirit into the tiny embryo growing in a woman's body in Konoha, and a few months later they did the same to the Moon Spirit, but in the body of your mother, Hina."

"So y-you mean… I-I am the M-Moon Spirit." Hinata said shakily. Nato grinned.

"Yup!"

Hinata took a deep breath as her mind processed the information she had been given. Nato had said that the Moon Spirit revealed all truth. Was that why she had been able to see Nato's true appearance when no one else could? Then a thought occurred to her.

"A-Are you the Sun S-Spirit, Nato?"

"You got it, Hina!" It was then that the two Spirits trapped in human bodies finally made it to the end of the tunnel, giving the girl no time to process all she had just learned.

Hinata was in complete awe as she looked at the Ancestor's Valley hidden in the circle of mountains. The tunnel opened out onto small flat space the over looked the entire valley. She could see the distant tops of the mountains on the other side, and the large expanse of green meadow dotted with small colorful flowers that covered the valley floor. There wasn't very much forest on this side of the mountains but there was a small wood with very tall and strong trees that rested at the base of the mountains. To her right a little ways she could she a waterfall coming down into a river. The river flowed across the valley to a medium sized lake in the center of it.

There was plenty of wildlife too. Even though she was a bit high up, Hinata could see some small rabbits in the grass, and horses grazing the meadow floor. From her high vantage point, she could also see that in the tall trees of the forest there were strange shelters, like tree houses, but not the kind she would imagine humans building. They looked as though they came straight out of a fairytale that she had been told of when she was very little. There were winding stairs on the trunks of some of the trees, leading up to the pathways and small homes in the treetops. There were different pathways connecting one tree to another, so it looked as though the entire forest was labyrinth of connected treetops. Hinata assumed that this was where the Yaunkur lived. All in all, the Moon Spirit found the valley to be breathtaking.

"Hina, I want to show you something." Nato said after he let his friend admire the view for a few minutes. She turned to him.

"O-Okay."

Suddenly a pair of dark golden-feathered wings rested on Nato's back. The winged boy held Hinata gently but firmly by her waist, and made sure that he had a good grip. Then, without warning, he jumped off the cliff. There was a rush a fear and excitement in Hinata as they fell towards the valley floor. But she wasn't really scared, as she trusted Nato. The boy extended his wings, and as they caught the wind, they weren't dropping anymore. Rather, they were gently floating on the wind, and Hinata could see everything as they glided through the air. But Hinata only really had one thought in her mind. She was _flying_.


	13. The Elders

**Hello again! Summer break started at the end of last week, so I will be able to update more often now.**

 **Fluttershy 2059123: I'll have to make sure to look back at my previous chapters to fix any errors. Thank you for telling me and for reviewing so much too!**

 **RaidanRam: I believe I mentioned the wings in the festival and before that, but they will be revisited in this chapter and more thoroughly explained in the next couple of chapters. And I went back to fix the error you caught. Again, thank you for telling me about it!**

 **Great (Guest): I guess that you could say that the Sun and Moon Spirits are like Raava, but a bit different. Their souls aren't simply connected to each other's. Nato and Hinata are literally the Sun and Moon Spirit in a human body.**

 **EDIT (12/1/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

 **The late morning of the day after arriving in the Ancestor's Valley**

Nato fidgeted quietly on the rock he was sitting on as Hinata's hands wove small braids in his shoulder length golden hair. Apparently she used to do this to her little sister sometimes, but now that she wasn't with her anymore, Hinata's hands had decided that they needed another person's hair to braid. Unfortunately for Nato, that person was him. It wasn't that he didn't like his hair being touched or played with. It was the fact that he had to sit perfectly still that bothered him.

But he didn't mind it, not really anyway. If it was for his dear friend Hinata, then he would withstand sitting still for as long as he had to.

"N-Nato? When you w-were talking about t-the Spirits yesterday, you m-mentioned something called 't-the darkness'. What did y-you mean?" He thought for a moment.

"The darkness is… well… kind of like a Spirit. But evil of course. It is the evil to the Spirits' good. But this 'Spirit' doesn't have a 'body' like how the Spirits do, like how the Wind Spirit has the wind to exist in. It could only be where the light wasn't, so the Spirits and the darkness were and are constantly fighting each other, ya know. So when the humans came into being, the darkness found a way for it to exist in them, poisoning their minds with its lies. You see, the darkness isn't just one entity, it is many different things, such as greed or hatred." He shrugged. "That's really the simplest way to explain it."

Hinata nodded and was silent, leaving Nato to again struggle with the urge to get up and move. Luckily for him though, the little braiding session was interrupted by the call of nearby young children.

"Nato-niichan!" They called. "Let's play 'Wolf'!" Nato grabbed at the opportunity without any hesitation.

"Yeah, sure!" The boy swiveled around to face Hinata, who didn't seem upset by the interruption, and whispered to her, "hey Hina, want to work together?" In response, the girl nodded.

A few minutes later, Nato stood atop a large boulder by the lake as he looked down at the assembly of children ranging from the ages of five to eleven. The children who were older were all still helping the adults as they unpacked and collected food, so they couldn't play. But it wasn't as if the children who were here and ready to play hadn't helped out at all. They had finished up earlier and were let go to play for a bit. In all, there were about twenty children.

Nato then began to speak, his voice carrying out across the crowd as if he was a general addressing his troops. "Okay, do we have two volunteers to be the first wolves?" Unsurprisingly, no hands were raised. Most preferred playing as a villager to playing as a wolf. In the beginning of games it tended to be hard on the wolves since it could take some time before they caught anyone. But just after a few moments of waiting, two familiar hands shot into the air. Nato smiled.

"You are the wolves, Sura, Inwoe. You have fifteen minutes to find your base in one of the caves–remember, not too close to the village–and prepare for the start of the game."

His friends nodded and then ran off, but before they got very far, Ichigo turned around and called out, "Powers or no powers?"

"No elemental abilities!" Nato shouted back. Then Nato turned back to speak to the other kids again.

"Okay, now let's begin our fifteen minutes of preparation!"

Nato jumped down from his perch on the boulder, grabbed Hinata's hand, and ran towards the forest where the village of sorts was. Hinata's confused gaze caught Nato's eye as he looked at her. She had played both with and without powers, but never just excluding one ability. So what did that category 'elemental abilities' extend too?

Nato responded as if reading her mind. "Basically, it means that we are not allowed to bend or control elements, and we are not allowed to manifest our elements."

"M-Manifest?"

"Do you remember how I had those wings the other day? That was my elemental manifestation. Everyone in this tribe has one according to their element, and I'm sure that you'll be getting yours soon." Hinata nodded to show that she understood.

At the edge of the forest Nato slowed to a walking pace.

"So, Hina, what traps should we set up?" The girl-with-moons-for-eyes looked down for a moment as if in deep thought, and then said,

"Well, I-I have some shinobi w-wire."

"What's shinobi wire?" Nato tilted his head to the side a tad.

"It is a t-thin and a-almost invisible wire that w-we shinobi use to set u-up traps sometimes."

Nato grinned. "Let's do it!"

Some minutes later, Hinata and Nato finished creating traps with the shinobi wire throughout the edges of the forest treetops and floor. They made sure to inform as many of the others who were playing as villagers of the traps so that they didn't get caught in it themselves. With the other villagers they gathered some harmless smoke bombs, and put up different traps in other areas of the valley such as one that would release a net when cut. They assigned children to different positions, some to be scouts or sentinels, a few which would keep supplies in stock, and some to be prepared to set off traps. When everyone was ready and the preparation time was finally up, Nato once again went out to the boulder and called out, "BEGIN!"

* * *

Things had very quickly gone downhill for the villagers. Despite one of their greatest powers being off limits, Sura and Inwoe had managed to turn three villagers in the first ten minutes. Currently, over thirty minutes in the game, there were only two villagers left; Hinata and Nato. And now, the two of them were sneaking into the wolves' base, since that was the only thing they could really do if they wanted to somehow win the game. If they could capture one of the wolves, they could increase the number of villagers, and maybe win the game.

Unfortunately for the two remaining villagers, all of the wolves' were lying in wait for them. Nato ran as fast as he could away from the cave, looking behind him as he did, expecting to see Hinata not far behind him. She wasn't. Nato stopped running, even though some of the wolves were coming far too close to him for comfort. Seeing him stop, the other children took the chance to put all of their energy into a final burst of speed, charging straight towards him.

But he didn't continue sprinting in the direction of the forest. Rather, surprising everyone, he ran back to the cave in which the wolves' had made their lair. He dodged past everyone who tried to grab at him, ran up to the opening of the cave, and stopped. He couldn't go any farther, or else he would become a wolf, and the game would be over. Had Hinata already been taken? Was he too late? Nato didn't have much time to think about it, because as he was internally freaking out, a small hand had reached out from the cave and pulled him over the boundary line of the cave.

The game was over.

Nato blinked, quite unsure of what had just transpired. He looked up to see the triumphant grinning faces of Sura and Inwoe, and Hinata's gentle smile, her hand gripping his wrist tightly. The only thing that came out of Nato's mouth at this sight was an intelligent "Whaa…?"

Sura, feeling some pity for her confused friend, began to explain. Apparently Hinata had actually been captured and turned into a wolf some time before now, back when there were still six villagers. She and the two original wolves came up with the plan that was just carried out, in which Hinata would pretend to be a villager, and lure Nato to the cave since they knew that it would be incredibly hard to catch him otherwise.

And now that he looked back on it, Nato couldn't remember Hinata ever entering the village after the time that she had apparently been turned into a wolf. Nato was shaken out of his daze (and the other three children out of their victory dance) when a voice called out.

"Hinata, Hinata! I need to speak to you!"

The children exited the cave to see Kahina talking to the other kids, asking them if they had seen Hinata. Many of them pointed to the cave that the four children were just leaving. She approached them and then turned to Hinata.

"Hinata, dear, the Elders wish to speak to you. They would have come to get you themselves, but they're a bit too old and tired at the moment to do so."

The Elders wanted to speak to her? What for?

"W-Where are they?"

"They are waiting in one of the small meeting rooms in the forest. Come, I'll lead you to it."

Nato's eager gaze fell on his aunt. "Kahina-oba, can I come too?"

"Not today Nato." The boy sighed as Kahina and Hinata left for the meeting room.

* * *

Hinata sat on a colorful woolen mat in the center of one of the small treetop rooms, with the elders on mats of their own as they sat in a semi-circle around her. The room did not have any walls (only some railing), it being open to the forest surroundings, letting in the natural light and gentle wind. The floors and ceiling of the room was made of the same wood as that of the tall tree whose branches it rested in. The trunk of the tree was not in the center but on the right side of the room and there was rope bridge that connected their meeting room to a different room behind Hinata.

As Hinata looked around at the elders' faces, she noticed some that were openly kind and welcoming, and others that were more stern and closed. But she noticed one thing about all of them. Their eyes all held some kindness in them, whether revealed in torrents or a slow drizzle. The elders were a mix of both male and female members, with some younger and others looking to be over a century old.

The woman who sat directly in front of her looked to be the oldest of them all. Her once dark hair was now a bright white, and it was held in a tight bun on the top of her head. She had many wrinkles and kind eyes, and even though she seemed to be the oldest one there, she radiated life and energy not just through her gentle smile, but her entire being. Then, she spoke.

"Welcome, young lady." With that simple phrase filled with warmth, Hinata immediately relaxed. "I am sure that you are wondering what we have to speak to you about." Seeing Hinata stiffen a bit she laughed. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. We just need to talk about your training in our arts. Since you did not grow up in our tribe, you do not currently have the skills you will need. So one of us will teach you until you have mastered them. Is this fine with you?" Hinata, seeing no reason to protest, nodded. "Great! Elder Jal over here has already accepted the position of your teacher." She gestured at a younger man, who was still probably at least eighty years old. He had a shiny bald head and a stern face. He then took over.

"We will begin tomorrow at dawn in this room. Is this acceptable?" Hinata nodded. After a few weeks with the Yaunkur, she was quite used to getting up at that time. Even before she joined them she sometimes had to get up that early for training in her clan's arts anyway.

"Okay then, you are free to go." The girl bowed her head slightly, and stood up to leave the room. As she did, her head was spinning with the clutter of thoughts that filled her mind. She was going to learn how to do all of the amazing things that her friends here were able to do! What element would hers be? Would she do well? With the endless questions whirling through her head she crossed the rope bridge and made her way back to her friends.

* * *

As the sun set, the Yaunkur tribe all stood and sat around a large campfire in the meadow eating their evening meal. Laughter could be heard in the air as they conversed with each other. It wasn't long though before a group got up and began dancing around the fire. Soon, all of the tribe was dancing, big smiles on their faces as they spun and leapt around the blaze of light. The people dancing in the front then grabbed each other hands and walked in a circle around the fire to the right. The people in the middle did the same, but they went to the left instead, and those farthest away went to the right. Two merry faces stood out in the front, those of the boy-with-the-sun-on-his-face and the girl-with-moons-for-eyes.

And with that, the sun set on the valley nestled in the arms of Anusuli.


	14. Yaunkur Training

**Sorry for the long wait! It was mostly due to the fact that this summer turned out to be much busier than I thought it was going to be, I did not have internet connection lots of the time as I have been constantly on the move, I had some plot issues to work out, and finally purely because of my own laziness. Something that I keep forgetting to mention is that this series will have four books, not three, plus at least one crossover side story. But anyway, here's the long overdue chapter!**

 **EDIT (12/1/17): Some very small and basic edits, grammatical stuff mostly.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Hinata was shaken awake by Nato's exuberant voice.

"Hina, Hina! It's time to wake up for your lessons!" Was it dawn already? Hadn't it only been seconds ago that she had laid down after a long evening of dancing? Her tired eyes slowly moved to gaze out of the window to her right. She could see faint trails of light spreading across the sky, and suddenly she wasn't tired anymore. Then the information Nato gave her finally sunk in. If she didn't hurry, she would be late for her lessons with the elder, and on the first day too!

Hinata shot up from her mat on the floor of the medium sized tree house bedroom she shared with Nato and his family. His two cousins, Roni and Nila (they were five year old twins, Nicoma being three minutes older than her brother), Kiki, and Nato himself were the only ones besides Hinata in the room in that moment.

Nicoma was well prepared for Hinata's rush to get ready, and so as soon as the older girl shot up she handed her a Yaunkur dress-robe. Hinata simply threw it on over the light and simple nightgown she was already wearing (as everyone in the tribe did the same). She gratefully accepted the peach and bread given to her by Nato and Roni, and gobbled them down (in a lady-like fashion of course). She very quickly gave a polite 'thank you' to the other occupants of the tree house, said goodbye, and then raced out of the flap that covered the doorway.

She walked across the rope bridge to the main tree of their tree house complex and climbed down the ladder to the forest floor. As she began to run to the edge of the forest, she heard voices calling out to her. When she turned around she saw Nato, Roni, and Nila waving to her from the rope bridge that connected their bedroom to the main area.

"See you later Hina! Have fun!"

Hinata smiled as she waved back at them, and then she continued running. All the while, she was thinking. What happened to her this morning? She wasn't usually like this. Normally she was always proper and had no trouble getting up before sunrise. Oh well. Hopefully she would be able to prevent it from happening again. Hinata then passed the tree line of the forest and entered the large meadow area of the valley. From what she saw, there were not many people out and about yet. It seemed that she was not the only one affected from the late night. As she looked around though, Hinata noticed that most of the people out were a bit unusual. She saw one woman who possessed splotches of snake-like scales on her face and hands.

Then Hinata reached the lake and appointed meeting spot. She saw that her new teacher was waiting for her on one of the many large rocks in the area. She came to a stop in front of the rock and panted slightly (but just slightly) as she bowed to him.

"G-Good morning, Jal-s-sensei." He allowed a small smile to grace his face. He looked at the sun that was just barely peeking out over the horizon.

"Good morning, Hinata. You are right on time."

* * *

Nato waved to Hinata until he could no longer see her. When he put his hand down to rest at his side, he felt a small tug on his pants. He glanced down to see little Nila looking at him with her giant brown eyes full of curiosity.

"Niichan, what are you going to do today?"

In return, her cousin smirked. "I'm going to join Hina, of course."

(A few minutes later, a small fox scampered out of the forest.)

* * *

Hinata and her new teacher sat in a secluded area of the meadow, about half a mile from the forest. They hadn't stayed by the lake long, as Jal knew that it would have soon been quite loud and distracting by the time everyone had woken up.

"Hinata, you are probably wondering just what I will be teaching you." Jal began. "Today I will begin instructing you on the traditions and customs of our tribe, our language of Kaeyugen, our sensory abilities, messaging, and the basic animal transformation." Hinata perked up a bit at that last bit. "Tomorrow will be on the elements and manifesting yours. Training days will be in a rotating schedule with the two days that were just explained to you. I will only be teaching you in the mornings, so every day once the sun reaches its peak at sunhigh you are free to go. I will also give you every Kurama's Day* for rest. Does that work with you?"

"Yes, J-Jal-sensei."

"So then, since it is already well past sunrise, we will just start with opening your senses to the outside and the Land, and then we will unlock your transformation. Come. It's best to be in a forested area for this."

* * *

The Elder, Jal, sat in a tree about a hundred feet from his student, and watched as she meditated on a large stone. It had already been about thirty minutes, and she was not getting very far. It wasn't that she didn't have the capability to do it, no, not at all. She of all people would have an easy time. She just needed a little push, and Jal knew exactly who would be best for the job.

"Nato, come on out." Nothing happened, but there was a slight rustling in the bushes.

"I know you are there, so there is no point in hiding anymore." A small fox darted out from the bushes where the movement had been just moments ago. The fox then shifted into the half-form of the eight year old blond boy named Nato. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and grinned as he stood at the base of the occupied tree.

"I guess you caught me pretty easily." He laughed a bit.

"Nato, I need you to help Hinata out with her meditation."

"Sure, jiji."

* * *

Hinata sat very still, trying her very best to extend her senses. But just what did her teacher mean by connecting to the Land? Hinata just didn't quite understand. She had asked him too, but it still wasn't very clear. All she knew was that somehow, she was supposed to be able to feel the Land by meditating on this rock.

"Hina…" Startled by the sudden voice, Hinata's eyes flew open only to see a smiling Nato with fox ears and a tail sitting in front of her. "Need some help?"

Relieved, she nodded. "I j-just don't really u-understand what the Land looks like, or how she communicates with us without fully revealing herself. How can I connect with her if I don't know these things?"

"Well, I always imagined her this way: she is everything. She is the soil on the ground that provides food to plants and trees. She is the ring of mountains that protects our valley." He grinned brightly. "She's beautiful, ya know." Hinata took all of this information in, creating an image in her mind. "What I would suggest starting with when it comes to connecting with her is hearing her heartbeat."

"H-Heartbeat? How would y-you hear it?" In her mind, Hinata asked another question to herself: how did the Land have a heartbeat? Immediately when she asked herself this, she thought of an answer. Spirits, even though they were immortal (as far as she knew) beings whose bodies were not animal-like (again, as far as she knew), were still living things. And every living thing has a heartbeat of some sort, right?

After she sorted that out, she tuned back into what Nato was saying.

"Just like this." Nato slid off of the stone, put his ear to the earth, and closed his eyes. Hinata followed after him, mimicking what she saw him do. She couldn't hear anything except the usual forest noises, so she covered her other ear and concentrated. She extended her hearing into the earth, imagining it as if she were simply extending the range of her byakugan. Still, nothing. Then she imagined the Land, with her protective arms acting as the ring of mountains, enfolding them all in her warm embrace.

She heard it. _Thump, b-thump, b-thump._

It was strong, warm, and _good_. Just like its owner.

* * *

"The last thing we will do today is unlock your animal transformation. This will allow you transform into your spirit animal. To do this, you need an Elder like me to unlock it for you." Stated Elder Jal. He then walked over to Hinata (who was sitting on the rock she had previously been meditating on) and laid his hands on her head. "Ready?" She nodded, and suddenly she felt a strange tingling sensation on her scalp, and it spread to the rest of her body in a cold chill. She looked down to see her hands morphing into paws, and she felt herself go down onto all fours.

Soon, instead of Hinata sitting on the rock, there was sleek, but small, snow leopard. Nato's smiling face and blue eyes entered her vision.

"Wow, Hina! Your animal is a snow leopard! It fits you, ya know. Just like you, snow leopards are shy, but very strong and beautiful." Hinata felt a blush crawl onto her face, and it kind of confused her. How did snow leopards blush? Was it even possible? She didn't have much more time to dwell on it.

"Come on, Hina!" Nato then went from his half-form to full fox and ran off into the trees. Hinata leaped off the rock and chased after him. She discovered that it was surprisingly easy to control her animal form. In fact, it felt so natural, as if she hadn't ever been one of those strange creatures that walked on two legs. Why did they even have two legs? Running on four legs was so much faster and it felt much more natural too.

Hinata continued to sprint around in the forest, chasing after the small orangey-gold fox.

* * *

As the sun set, Hinata stood in the center of the circle of elders on the valley floor, onlookers from the rest of the tribe standing around them. The Elders chanted a long string of words from their language of Kaeyugen. Then her teacher, Elder Jal, stepped out of the circle and approached her. In his hand he held a bowl of ceremonial paste. Hinata held her left forearm out to him. He dipped a finger in the paste, and then drew a perfect circle around the four-pointed star and crescent moon in its center.

Instantly, the circle seemingly melted into her skin, showing on the surface like ink marks. The chanting ceased, and Jal held her arm up for everyone to see. Hollering and cheering erupted from the rest of the tribe. Another one of their own had learned their spirit animal.

* * *

* **In this version of the Naruto universe, instead of the Gregorian calendar, they have one with nine days a week. It starts with Shukaku's Day, then Matatabi's Day, and so on until Kurama's Day.**


	15. Elemental Training

**Ohiyo! I'm back home now and school starts up again next week, so I'm going to try and write as much as I can this week. I made a mistake last chapter, I wrote the real names of some of the other tailed beasts for the weekdays, but I wrote Kyuubi instead of Kurama. So I edited it and decided that the names will be their real names because the most of the people in this world are on much better terms with the tailed beasts then they are in canon.**

 **Great (Guest): At the present moment Nato is eight years old, and Hinata will very soon be too.**

 **Fluttershy 2059123: Really?! That's interesting! A while ago I was reading some stories where they gave the characters their Anbu code names and Hinata's was always "Mouse" or "Cat". I decided then that yes, those names do work, but they don't fit her exactly. So I found Snow Leopard instead.**

 _ **Bold Italics**_ **= Yaunkur Symbol**

 **EDIT (12/4/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

 **Chomei's Day**

The morning after receiving the circle to her mark, Hinata was up bright and early. She had no trouble getting up whatsoever. In fact, she was up before Nato and his little cousins, though Dimos and Kahina were already out. She had to be very careful when getting ready as not to wake the others. It wasn't too hard for a shinobi like her, no matter the fact that she never completed her training (after running away and everything). Not only that, but she was known for being quiet, graceful, and gentle; attributes she was willing to put into use now.

She softly stepped over Nato, who instead of laying straight with head on the pillow of his own mat, was sprawled all across the floor, completely turned around from where he started, and half sleeping on Roni, who was in a similar state. Then, unexpectedly, the golden haired boy's leg quickly shot out and collided hers, causing Hinata to begin to fall. Fortunately, she regained her balance just as quickly, not wasting a moment in doing so.

Picking up her robe hanging on a hook next to the others, Hinata put it on over her nightgown. She then slipped out of the treetop room, only pausing to listen to a couple of groggy voices.

"Have fun, Hina…"

"Bye, Neechan…"

The latest addition to the nomadic Yaunkur tribe smiled as she walked to the main platform in their treetop complex, and then across a flat wooden walkway to the small kitchen-like room with low neck-high (at least for her) walls. There was a flat rock the size of large cooking pan painted with the Yaunkur symbol for _**Fire**_ in a small stone area to the side of room. The stone fireplace was painted with the symbol for _**Protection**_ and the symbol for _**Fire**_ in a circle. As Hinata had learned over the past few weeks with her new tribe, the combination of _**Fire**_ and _**Protection**_ in the loop caused fire and dangerous amounts of heat the Fire Stone created to not spread past the stone fireplace.

The almost eight-year-old girl took one of the pots and went to fetch some water from the large wooden barrel in the room. She filled the pot a little more than halfway. At the bottom of the inside of the barrel were the symbols for _**Maintain**_ and _**Temperature**_ in a circle, with _**Cleanse**_ written beneath. Every day when the water supply ran low, the children would all go and collect water from the lake with smaller buckets. The symbols ensured that the water didn't get too hot or too cold, and that it was safe to drink also.

Hinata placed the pot with water on the Fire Stone. Then she touched the stone and applied some of the stored magic (another essential thing she learned in her first days with the tribe) in her mark to the stone. When she felt it begin to heat up she removed her hand and covered the pot with a lid. Leaving her place by the fireplace, Hinata rummaged through some of the baskets until she found the latest herbal tea blend she had made on the road. As a girl whose father trained her to be a queen, Hinata had always loved tea, and with her equal love of gardening, she always enjoyed making her own tea with homegrown herbs. Or rather in this case, foraged and traded herbs.

As she waited for the water to reach a hard boil, Hinata got out some apricot jam that they traded for and went back to the main room to place it next to the freshly baked loaf of bread Kahina and Dimos had left earlier on the mat that served as their table. The bakers in the tribe baked the bread overnight and in the early morning. So that everyone got the sleep they needed, the bakers took shifts and didn't take shifts more than two nights in a row. Enough bread was baked in the brick ovens that every separate family had at least one loaf every morning. Of course, they could only do this sort of bread baking while in the valley. While abroad, simple flat bread was made instead.

Hinata then placed four cups on the mat and laid out some of the herbal mixture in them. Soon, the water reached a scalding hot temperature. Lifting the pot off of the Fire Rock, Hinata reached around with her other hand the touch the _**Fire**_ symbol with a small, long, and thin stone inscribed with the symbol for _**Stop**_ and applied some magic. Everyone one had a rock like that one since it was the only way to make a symbol cease working until more magic was given.

Very carefully, Hinata walked across the walkway once more and poured some water in one of the cups. Then she put the pot down on one of the many hot pads on the mat. The pads were painted with the same symbols as the fireplace. Hinata cut herself some bread and spread jam on it, careful to not use too much. When the herbs in her tea finished seeping Hinata sipped it slowly, knowing she still had time.

When she finished her breakfast, Hinata poured water into the other three cups and descended the stairs to the forest floor. She knew that Nato, Roni, and Nila would be up very soon and would appreciate the breakfast. Hinata walked at a fast pace through the forest. She still had time, but not a whole lot.

As she walked through the valley, Hinata noticed yet again that many of the people who were out were not in their fully human form, but not in fully animal either. She decided to ask her teacher about it later.

Hinata reached the lake and bowed down to her teacher. He bowed in return.

"Good m-morning, Jal-sensei."

"Good morning, Hinata."

* * *

Hinata stared up in awe at the grand tree. It was _huge_. Just from a first glance, she could tell that it would take at least ten people with their arms spread out wide to hug the tree around its base. And looking up, she saw the strong and twisted branches of the tree spread far out, their soft green leaves glinting with sunlight. All in all, it was an amazing sight.

"This is our chakra tree." Stated Jal. "As you may already know, shinobi cut down these trees to make into a paper to test elemental affinities. We Yaunkur have a different way of doing things."

Jal touched the palm of his left hand to the bark of the old tree. Hinata activated her byakugan, sensing that something else was going on. She was right. Her teacher wasn't just touching the tree, he was expelling chakra into it. She could also see that the tree was taking it in, and shooting the chakra into a far up leaf. Jal removed his hand from the tree and held it out, palm up. Shortly, the same leaf fell from the tree and into his outstretched hand. Immediately, the leaf crumbled, and Hinata deactivated her byakugan.

"Depending on your elemental affinity, the leaf will do different things. If yours is like mine, earth, the leaf will crumble. Water, it will become damp. The leaf with burn up if you have an affinity to fire, and finally it will tear into two pieces if yours is wind. In our tribe earth is the most common affinity, because we are the Land's people, though we do have others." He paused for a slight moment. "Are you ready?"

Hinata nodded shakily. Why was she so nervous? I wasn't like this was going to forever change her life… right?

Placing her hand on the enormous trunk of the chakra tree, Hinata expelled some of her chakra into it and then stepped back, holding her hand out. In no time at all, a leaf fell into her waiting palm.

It became damp. Hinata blinked.

The Elder smiled. "Water. We don't have very many with that affinity. Come, let us unlock your manifestation."

* * *

The young girl felt a faint sense of déjà vu. Just like yesterday, she sat on a rock with her teacher's hands resting lighting on her head. Only this time, the rock happened to be in a deep pool of water nearby the old chakra tree, and she was only wearing her nightgown. And once again, she felt the strange but refreshing tingling sensation spread from the top of her head down to her pinky toes.

There was only one major difference. Instead of the feeling of morphing into a four-legged creature, Hinata felt a small pain on the sides of her neck as skin rearranged itself and muscles moved. When it ended only moments later, her hand reached up to touch the still softly tingling spots on her neck. Rather than smooth skin she felt ridges in a pattern that reminded her of… gills.

In her shock, the voice of her teacher caused her to jump slightly. "What are you waiting for? Go ahead and jump in!"

Hinata stared at the water before gathering all of her courage and sliding in.

The cold was a shock, but not as much as she expected. Very quickly, her body adjusted to the temperature, faster than ever before. The girl supposed it was because of her new found ability. She simply floated underwater for a minute or so, realizing that she had no trouble whatsoever with breathing, although she wasn't breathing in a way she was used to.

Delighted, she laughed, the bubbles from her mouth escaping to the surface.

* * *

As she sat in the sunlight next to the pool, allowing her nightgown to dry off a bit, Hinata asked the question she had been meaning to since early that morning.

"Jal-sensei," the elderly man turned around from his meditating spot to face his young pupil, "w-why are there s-so many people in t-their half-forms a-almost all of the time?"

"Do you remember how you felt yesterday in your animal form?" She nodded. "Being in that form gives a feeling of complete freedom to us Yaunkur. When we are human, we feel confined in these bodies. Yet, in our animal form, we cannot do the things humans can, such as creating things with our hands. In half-form, we can do both of those things, and we have the bonus of heighted senses according to our animal."

Hinata nodded, deep in thought. Then she transformed so that she had the swirling tail of her snow leopard and the two ears resting on top of her head, the human ones having vanished. She smiled as she twirled around.

He was right.

* * *

Just after sunhigh, Hinata approached the large stone next to the lake, having seen her friends' familiar chakra signatures there through her byakugan. Looking at them close-up now, they looked bored out of their minds as they simply laid on the rock in their half-forms.

"G-Good afternoon."

Instantly, Nato shot up at the sound of his dear friend's voice. "Hina!"

In his rush to get to her, the boy tumbled off the rock and Hinata giggled. As he picked himself up, he began speaking again.

"Thank goodness you're here, Hina. We've been _so bored_ without you!"

"What could I-I possibly do to h-help with that?" She replied, giggling at her fellow Spirit's behavior.

"Well, you could give us some interesting news…" He glanced around conspiratorially. "Such as what your affinity is?" He looked at her innocently. Sura and Inwoe inched closer, their legs swinging over the edge of the stone.

"I-It's water."

At this response, Sura's face shone brighter than even Nato's, which was saying something.

"Really?! So is mine! You're the only other one of the kids here with that element!" She also slid off of the stone, but much more gracefully than Nato.

"Come on, I'll teach you what I know, and we can be training partners." Hinata smiled back at Sura, happy that she wasn't the only one who had water for their affinity. The two young girls went into the lake, manifesting their gills just before they jumped in. With the water clouding their ears, they made out the garbled voice of Nato.

"Wait! Don't leave me alone with Strawberry! _I'm so bored, ya know!_ "

The girls simply laughed.

* * *

 **Some notes:**

 **In the kitchen scene, the idea of the symbols just popped out of nowhere. When I realized what I wrote down I decided, 'okay, I can work with this'.**

 **I just recently re watched** _ **Avatar: The Last Airbender**_ **with my younger brother, and Iroh is one of my favorite characters, so the idea of making tea was the first thing that came into my head.**


	16. Shinobi Training

**Hello! It's been a while since I have updated. I'm over a month and a half into the school year now, and have already had at least two major tests in each class. I'm glad to be back though and continue this story. Since the last time, I have added a few more chapters into the plan for this fanfic so that things make more sense. Anyway…**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it, now would I?**

 **EDIT (12/5/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes!**

* * *

 **Gyuuki's Day, Nearing Sunhigh**

Next to the chakra tree sat Elder Jal and Hinata. Earlier this morning they had decided that this area would be the best place for the girl to have her lessons, as it was quiet and secluded. It was almost the end of their lesson for the day, and Jal had already taught Hinata a bit of Kaeyugen, and there was just one more thing he wanted to do before their time ran out.

"Hinata," her teacher began, "do you know of the talbone a person may choose?"

She nodded, and then elaborated when prompted. "Each p-person in the tribe d-decides on a specific skill they w-want to train f-further and specialize in, s-so that everyone knows w-what role they play in the t-tribe."

"That's a good start. Though one thing to remember is that choosing one skill does not prevent one from learning another, even if they did not choose it for their talbone, and they can be switched, but it's not very common to do so. There are also some who take on multiple.

"Now, it is around your age that children pick their talbone, or at least start training in an area they think they might want to specialize in. So I believe that it is time for you to choose an area to begin training in."

Hinata felt her pulse quicken. She had to decide on something now? There were too many things she wanted to do. She enjoyed both the cooking arts and the healing arts, and had more experience in them than other areas. However, if she thought in that direction, she should think of doing hunting because of her shinobi training, but she didn't want to do that. Maybe she should choose something she had little to no experience in, so that she could learn something new. At that, another thought came to her. What about the Yaunkur symbols? She knew hardly anything about them, but what she did learn those past few weeks intrigued her. She made up her mind… for now at least.

Hinata looked back up at the patiently waiting elder. "I don't k-know if I want to sp-specialize in it, but I'm curious a-about the Yaunkur symbols."

Jal smiled. "That's good, because that happens to be part of my talbone, and as such I can teach you."

The young girl's eyebrows raised in surprise. She certainly wasn't expecting that. Hinata watched as her teacher looked up at the sun, likely judging the amount of time they had left for the day.

"We still have some time, so I'll briefly explain the method behind the symbols. In all honesty, our Yaunkur magic isn't really performed by us. Rather, when we apply magic to a symbol, we are simply causing the symbol to be brought to the attention of the Spirits and through what the symbol is we ask them to do different things for us.

"For example, if we were to apply magic to a **Fire** symbol, we would be asking the Fire Spirit to heat the object for us."

"But w-why would the Spi-Spirits do that for us?"

"Because we are their last hope in this universe, among other things. Besides, they don't always answer. If one with evil intentions was to activate a symbol, the Spirits would sense it and not comply."

There was a brief silence, as the young girl was deep in her thoughts. In no time at all though, just as the sun reached its highest point in the sky, the peacefulness of the forest was broken by the rumbling and tumbling sound of drums.

Hinata listened closer, and felt her heart soar and fly in time to the beat. The feeling it gave her made her want to leap and dance around the trees.

 _Tum tum tum tum tum-pada-tum-tum-tum-pada-pada-tum-tum-tum tum tum…_

The beat tumbled and churned on and on, and Hinata found her tail swishing along. The lavender-eyed girl looked at her teacher in a questioning way. Sensing her unasked inquiry, he began to speak.

"That is the beat of our migration song." Her teacher was smiling softly as he listened. "When it comes time for us to return to this island, the migration song causes our blood sing. Until we get back here to our safe haven, the Drums are constantly sounding in our bones, calling us home."

Hinta's eyebrows scrunched up into a small frown. "But w-wouldn't it be hard to sl-sleep with those drums k-keeping you awake? And why a-are they playing that n-now?"

Her teacher chuckled warmly. "The Drums actually make it easier to sleep. When we go to lay our heads down for the night, it softens so that it is more of a lullaby. And if someone were to attack our camp while we slept, the Drums would quicken in warning and wake us ready and alert." Seeing the faint hints of confusion still on his student's face, the elder added, "you will understand when you hear it for the first time.

"As for your second question, we love those drums and the feeling it gives us. We always just want to shout with joy and dance merrily. But for the past century or so, the Drums have only sounded every four years when it is the end of our cycle and time to come back. To try to get that feeling at other times, we attempt to copy the familiar rhythms, but no matter how well we have played and no matter how much spirit and heart we have put into it, we have never been able to get that same feeling outside of the migration song."

The drums then slowed and the beat came to a close. With the end of the song, the two Yaunkur, seemingly realizing the time, stood from where they were sitting.

"Well then Hinata, it is just past Sunhigh and tomorrow is Kurama's day, and I will not be teaching you again until Shukaku's day. Remember to practice tomorrow, whether it be with your water or symbols or Kae. You can even get one of the other kids your age to help you. Clear?" The young girl nodded.

The two headed back to the lake.

* * *

" _Malycra oni ali yotaesn._ Try that, Hina."

Just as Nato asked her, Hinata tried sounding out the phrase. After a few times and some coaching from Nato, she had it down perfectly.

" _Malycra o-oni ali yotaesn._ What d-does it mean?"

"The closest translation in Nem would be, 'the way is clear'." He paused. "Well actually, directly translated it means 'clear is the way', but you're supposed to say it the other way around. I don't really know why I taught it to you, but I like the phrase." Nato shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Dunno why, ya know."

Hinata smiled. "I l-like it too." At the admittance, Nato grinned back at her in his special, blinding way. But then his smile faded and he looked down in a completely un-Nato fashion.

"Neh, Hina?" His voice was very soft, a volume level the lavender-eyed girl expected to come out of her mouth and definitely not his. He glanced around, seemingly unable to meet her eyes. Hinata's brow furrowed. "Can you teach me how to use chakra and fight like a shinobi?"

Not for the first time (as she'd been witness to Nato's unpredictable ways more than once), Hinata found herself speechless. What had brought about this sudden desire of his to learn to fight?

Taking his friend's silence to be something completely different, Nato became panicked and tried to cover up what he just said. "I mean, I know I'm a healer and all and we don't really fight, but I want to be able to protect my family if I ever need to! It's okay if you don't want to Hina, but-"

He was cut off from his ramblings by little giggles that quickly turned into full blown laughter. Now it was his turn to stare flabbergasted at his usually shy and reserved friend. When she finally gained her breath again, Hinata gave her answer.

"I'd l-love to, Nato. But are y-you sure you want _me_ to t-teach you?"

The golden-haired boy, having overcome his shock, simply grinned again. "Of course, Hina!"

"O-Okay then, let's g-get started." Hinata reached over and grabbed a leaf, one of the many that laid on the secluded forest floor. "First, d-do you know what ch-chakra is?"

Nato's forehead scrunched up in thought, and he answered a bit uncertainly, "a form of energy?" The girl giggled sweetly again.

"Yes, i-it is. But more specifically it is the c-combination of your p-physical and spiritual energies."

"Physical and spiritual energies?" The young girl nodded.

"T-The more of each you have, usually m-means the more chakra y-you have. You get more physical energy by t-training your body, and more spiritual e-energy by training your mind t-through gaining knowledge." Hinata left out the fact that chakra training had to start in the early years before a child's chakra coils developed. Nato was only barely eight years old, and because of the magic the Yaunkur used she assumed that he had used the energy before, knowingly or not. After all, from what she could tell, the two were actually quite similar.

"How much do I have? I know Kurama says that he is basically a big source of chakra, and…" Hinata lost track after that, still trying to get past the name 'Kurama'. That was the name of the Kyuubi, the most powerful buuji. Why did Nato–oh wait…Nato was actually Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Crown Prince of the Land of Fire, the boy who had become the third jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi on the day he was born.

 _Right._

"–Hina?" Nato had finished rambling a moment ago and noticed his friend's shock. "Oh right! I haven't told you about that old fuzzball yet, have I? He's sealed inside of me and spends most of his time sleeping, but he is a good friend, ya know, the oldest friend I have."

Hinata (who had begun listening to the golden-haired boy again when he said her name) smiled and felt warm inside. It was nice to know that the buuji was Nato's friend.

After that little interruption, Hinata answered Nato's question. "Since the Y-Yaunkur are nomads and do most of their t-traveling on foot, I'd say that you should have a g-good amount of physical energy. And from w-what I have been l-learning about Yaunkur symbols, it sounds like your m-magic is a form of spiritual energy. S-So you should have good amounts of c-chakra just with that, but combined with the chakra of K-Kurama, you should have much, much more t-than the average shinobi."

"Really?!" The boy's blue eyes sparked, and he caused the girl to smile again as she nodded in confirmation. Hinata then handed the leaf in her hand to Nato.

"Now I w-want you to try to stick that l-leaf on your forehead u-using your chakra, like this." Hinata picked up another leaf and by concentrated some chakra on her forehead, managed to make it stick there without anything else holding it up. Nato, who had watched very closely, now nodded and tried for himself.

Hinata watched her new student. Even though she had only known Nato for a short time, she knew that he learned through doing things. It probably wouldn't help much if she attempted to explain the theory behind it to him.

So the two children practiced in the forest for the rest of the day, whether it was Nato teaching Hinata or the other way around.

* * *

That night, Kahina dreamed.

She stood alone in a large expanse of rocky land. Surrounding her were five waist tall pillars standing in a circle. On top of each one was a closed jar filled with one of the elements; silent earth, still water, burning fire, howling wind, and crackling lightning. Kahina then looked overhead. Clouds thoroughly covered the overcast sky, but she could see the red-gold sun peeking out through the darkness, and right next to it, the gentle silver moon with hints of lavender. Together, they began to bring light to the dark landscape and chase the clouds away. Their light began to illuminate the sky and light up the stars. Kahina smiled at the scene.

But then, to the matriarch's absolute horror, the sun's light began to fade, until it was completely black. It was almost as if the sun had died out.

Then, it was chaos. The bright, pure flames that once dwelled in one of the jars was tainted and now it was a dark, ugly yellowy-green, nothing like the beautiful color Kahina was used to seeing in the forest. The elements all broke out of their sealed jars and raged towards the middle of the circle. There wasn't enough time for Kahina to move. She could only watch.

They clashed.

* * *

Kahina shot awake, her breath heavy as she looked around the room with wide eyes. She saw that everyone else was already awake. They were huddled around her mat, their concerned gazes warming her after that dream. But when she looked directly into the eyes of Nato and Hinata, the weight of the seer's vision finally settled in.

The seer pulled the two confused children close to her, holding them tightly as she wept in sorrow for what she had seen in their future.

For what she had seen for in the future of all Light, of all that was good.


	17. Buried Alive in Darkness

**Ohayo! I don't have much to say except that I'm sorry updates have been infrequent. And that things in this story will be heating up soon. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and or followed. It really does mean a lot!**

 **Great (Guest): Yup, that vision does mean something for sure. I can't say much more though because that would spoil everything.**

… **That's all.**

 **EDIT (12/5/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

 **Kurama's Day, One Year and Three Months After Arriving in the Valley**

Thousands of miles away from the Land's Heart, Anusuli, a group of four children watched over a flock of sheep, letting them graze on one of the few expanses of grass in the rocky region. Having been on the move for a little more than three months, the Yaunkur were resting for a day in some previously explored and safe caves about a mile from the grassy area.

Since there wasn't an area for the sheep to graze by the caves, the older children were sent out in groups to watch over the sheep as they did so. Now one outside of the Yaunkur tribe might ask, 'why didn't they send the adults to do this?' For that there are many explanations. One; it taught the children how to be patient and keep themselves busy (all the walking they do helps with this too); two, the adults were doing other things, such as cooking (they also had children help out with this), and unpacking/packing; three, it _gave_ the kids something useful to do and time to run around; and four, one of the reasons adults have and raise children is so they can boss them around when they get old enough.

And so this is where we find the young Spirits.

Hinata hummed softly. She pulled out another long blade of soft green grass, and began to weave it into the braid she already made.

 **THUNK! THUNK!**

Nearby, the two boys slung rocks at the cliff side, all the while keeping one eye each on the flock of sheep. Sura meditated on top of a stone in the middle of the grazing flock. Earlier, she said that she wanted to see how long she could focus with all of the noise around her, and if she could block it out, yet stay in tune. To Hinata, it looked as though she could do it for quite some time, but a ten minutes ago when a tiny lamb blurted out a cry of distress as it tripped over a small rock, the girl almost fell over in surprise.

Speaking of the lamb, where was it now?

Hinata's sharp eyes scanned the flock, counting one, two, three, four – ten lambs. She frowned. This year they had eleven lambs. The Hyuuga girl quickly activated her byakugan, panic flaring in her as she searched further and further. Where was it? She glanced over a rocky path leading to an area with unstable ground and many hidden caves leading into deep darkness. As she was about to look away, a small movement in the corner of her left eye made her snap back.

There! The lamb seemed to have fallen into one of those caves, and was quickly wandering deeper and deeper into it. Hinata shot up, and the other four children looked at her.

"One of the lambs wandered i-into a cave over there." She pointed in the general direction. "Nato, I need y-you to come with me to rescue it. Sura, Inwoe, you both should stay here and m-make sure no other sheep wander o-off." They nodded. The latter two children took up vigils at other ends of the field, and Hinata ran towards the lamb, Nato close behind her.

* * *

As they traveled farther and farther into the cave, Hinata became more and more grateful she had chosen Nato to come along. Because of the lights beneath his skin, they had no trouble seeing in the dark cave. The two Spirits continued in silence down the slippery paths in the cave, Hinata's byakugan guiding the way.

Soon, they heard soft bleating. From Hinata's look, Nato could tell it was most certainly the lamb they were looking for and not a terrifying monster that just happened to sound like an innocent baby animal. At the thought, Nato shivered.

 _That would be terrifying._

Nato went by himself to get it, Hinata waiting in the tunnel behind him, keeping an eye on the rest of the many chambers in the cave. Nato turned the corner and saw the little lamb cowering in fear at him. Then, as the young boy approached and knelt down, whispering calming words, it recognized him and allowed itself to be picked up.

Walking back towards Hinata with the lamb in his arms, Nato felt his surroundings through the touch of his feet on the stone floor. He sensed the areas where there was no stone to feel, and sensed where there was. It certainly wasn't as good as Hinata's special eyes, Nato knew, but it worked well enough to keep him from stepping onto unstable ground. Nato also happened to know that if his feet did miss something, his friend would warn him of the danger. He could certainly count on her for that.

They clambered back out to see the light at the entrance to the cave, and Nato put the lamb down in front of him. He gently nudged it in the direction of Inwoe, who, sensing their approach, had come to meet them.

But for all of those heightened senses, none saw what came next. With no warning, the earth began to shake, and cracks appeared in the walls of the cave. There was no time to get out. Hinata and Nato could only move deeper into the cave to avoid the rocks falling directly in front of them, sealing off the entrance.

They moved back a little farther, only to find the way farther into the cave was also closed. They were trapped.

* * *

From the outside, Inwoe watched in horror as all of this happened. As soon as the rocks stopped falling and Inwoe deemed it safe, he lifted up the lamb that was preparing to bolt. Then he ran to collapsed cliff side, the panic in his voice obvious as he called out his friends' names.

He placed the lamb down again (though he made sure to keep an eye on it) and began frantically digging away the rusty red rocks blocking the path to his fellow Yaunkur.

"Nato! Hinata!" He called again.

There was a response. "We're fine, ya know! How about you?"

 _Nato._

He exhaled a shaky breath. "I'm alright too. Not a scratch." He replied shakily.

"Go get s-someone with the ea-earth affinity. They can get us out the most e-efficiently and safely."

 _Hinata._

Inwoe breathed out a sigh of relief. He looked up and saw a small gap in the pile of rocks were he could just barely see their eyes.

Then he picked up the lamb again, and ran to where Sura was watching over the flock. As he neared, he could see from Sura's face that she already knew something was horribly wrong.

Inwoe placed the lamb down, which then ran to join its flock, and told Sura what happened.

"We need someone with the affinity of earth!" Understanding, she nodded and ran to the lone tree on the far side of the field without complaint of receiving orders from Inwoe. She placed her hand on the trunk and concentrated, sending a message back to the tribe. Something the Yaunkur always made sure of when choosing a site was that there was a tree in the vicinity. Something Inwoe was glad for now.

Inwoe, knowing Sura would take care of everything over here, ran back to Nato and Hinata, so he could keep an eye on them. When he got there, he heard Hinata ask for Nato to tell her a story. Nato laughed brightly in response and Inwoe could practically see in him his mind's eye, putting his fist under his chin as his eyebrows scrunched together in thought. The dark haired boy rolled his eyes. Only those two could be so lighthearted and relaxed in a situation such as this one.

"Why don't you tell her about Gaara?"

From what Inwoe could hear, neither so much as jumped. Well, it made sense. They had both probably already known he was there, with all of their sensory abilities and whatnot.

"Gaara?" Hinata's voiced raised in question.

"Yeah, that's a good one! You see Hina, Gaara and I met many years ago…"

* * *

 _From the first moment Nato laid eyes on him, he knew that him and the shy redheaded boy were going to become good friends. At the time, Nato himself had only just made his first true human friends (at least in his age group), Sura and Inwoe, and he was eager to spread the joy of friendship with another lonely soul._

 _And this was before Kurama informed Nato of the buuji the boy carried; Shukaku. That only made the boy's desire to befriend him grow, and even more so when Kurama encouraged it himself, something the grumpy old fox rarely did._

 _So for the next few hours Nato watched, looking for an opportunity to approach the boy. And no, he totally wasn't a stalker; just a future friend! Yup, that's all it was. He watched the green-eyed boy's interactions; his father's (who just happened to be king and Kazekage of the Wind Country) cold words, his sibling's fearful glances, and the townspeople's wariness, as they avoided him to the best of their ability._

 _Now, Nato knew that the Land of Wind was one of the more traditional nations on the continent, but this was an extreme he was not expecting. First of all, only male heirs could inherit the throne (much to Princess Temari's ire and relief, not that Nato knew this at the time), and second (from what Nato could see), they continued to hold the belief that jinchuuriki were little more than monsters, even after Queen Kushina's shining example._

 _This was how Nato found himself in a park, preparing to finally approach the lonely boy sitting on the swing, who was watching some other children kick around a ball. He began to make his way to the boy when the ball rolled to rest at the feet of the Second Prince. There was a tense silence. Then, the boy reached down to pick it up, and offered it to the nearest child, a young girl._

 _"Here."_

 _She screamed, and that broke the stillness. Suddenly everyone was running away, trying to get as far away as they could from the prince. All, of course, except Nato. He simply looked down and clenched his fists, feeling a twinge of anger towards the fleeing children. However, his head shot up when he felt a familiar energy._

 _The holder of Shukaku still held the ball in one hand, the other stretched out towards the girl._

 _"Wait!" He called out. A hand made of sand grabbed the girl's ankle and at her cry of pain and surprise, the hand disappeared. She ran out of sight, leaving only Nato and the prince in the park. Nato's eyes were wide. It was obvious to him now that the boy he wanted to be friends with was even more special than anyone could have imagined; the Sand manipulation was more than Shukaku's power_ and something else he couldn't quite identify _– it seemed that a certain Sand Spirit took a shining to the red-headed boy._

 _Nato ran up to him, the prince still holding the ball with a shocked expression._

 _"Well, that wasn't very nice of them," the blond child said, staring off to where the other children had disappeared. Then he looked at the boy beside him. He had red hair, sea-form green eyes with dark circles under them, and a tattoo above his eye reading 'love'._

 _"Hello!" He exclaimed brightly. "My name's Nato. What's yours?"_

 _The other boy, still shocked, stared at him for a moment. "…Gaara."_

 _"It's nice to meet you, Gaara! Do you want to be my friend?"_

 _If possible, the young jinchuuriki's eyes widened even more. Nato could imagine exactly what he was thinking. Gaara had never expected someone to say that to him, and yet, he had always dreamed that one day someone would. Now, some strange boy who appeared from nowhere was asking him._

 _"But why would you want to be friends with me?"_

 _Now it was Nato's turn to be surprised. "Why wouldn't I?"_

 _"Because… I carry a buuji." He spoke sofly. Nato's eyebrows knitted together in confusion._

 _"So? I do too."_

 _If it hadn't been Gaara he was speaking to, Nato felt that the other boy's jaw would have dropped open, and he completely understood why. After all, how great of a chance was there for two young jinchuuriki to meet, out of all the people in the world?_

 _"What number is yours?"_

 _"Nine. You?"_

 _"One."_

 _They boys smiled at one another, one ever sunny, and the other more shy and reserved._

 _"So Gaara, will you be my friend?" Nato looked at him with imploring shiny eyes._

 _The one who was to be lonely no more gave a small but strong nod._

 _"Yes."_

* * *

"…And ever since, we've been the best of friends! Every time we pass through Suna, I make sure to spend lots of time with Gaara."

"W-Wow, he sounds like a g-good friend." Hinata said.

"He is!" Nato agreed. "And what's best is that from what I've seen and heard, he currently has a better relationship with his siblings and people than he ever had before, though he still has some ways to go. But I'm sure he can do it, no doubt, ya know! After all, that is the power of friendship." Nato nodded his head sagely.

Inwoe, still listening quietly from the other side of the rocks, hummed. "Yeah, he will definitely get there some day." Hinata, even though she couldn't fully see him, sensed a change in his tone. "And I bet I have more to do with it than Nato."

The boy with glowing skin took him up on the unspoken challenge. "No, it wouldn't be _you_ , Smoke-Breath. _I'm_ his best friend."

"Shiny Boy!"

"Nutty Squirrel!"

Hinata giggled as the boys continued to exchange insults. She knew they didn't really mean any of it.

"Flaming golden fart of-"

 **CRACK!**

The boys fell silent, tension and fear filling the cold, stale air. Then suddenly, the ground fell away, taking the boy-with-the-sun-on-his-face and the girl-with-moons-for-eyes with it, their names screamed out into the darkness.


	18. Sun's Healing Light

**Yay! A quick update! I had lots of ideas that suddenly came for this chapter, and lots of time in English to get it written down, so here it is! Besides, I left all of you on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I couldn't just leave you there.**

 **Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited.**

 **Blah (just to make this chapter 2100 words instead of 2099 (I just made it 2117, didn't I?))**

 **EDIT (12/5/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency. I also changed the Moon Spirit's name to Hasmae, rather than Hageima.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

They tumbled through the darkness, occasionally crashing into the walls of the cave. Both children cried out from the fear and the pain. Nato could feel something sticky and wet slid down his arm where a falling rock had hit. He clutched the wound tightly and gritted his teeth against the pain.

How deep was this hole? It seemed as though they had been falling for a while. Nato could barely see anything. There was no light. Even his skin was only glowing very dimly, only light enough for him to see his own body and nothing else.

Why was it so dark?

Nato hadn't heard Hinata for a while. Was she okay?

"Hin-"

He was cut off by a sharp pain on the back of his skull. He screamed out in agony, and then, nothing.

* * *

 _When he first came to exist, he felt… cold. Yes, that was the word for it. Why was it so cold? Perhaps it had something to do with the nothingness that surrounded him from all sides. It felt pressing and overwhelming, but at the same time not. It was kind of… comforting. That was when he realized he wasn't alone._

 _Akes, he decided to name him. Darkness. Shade._

 _He whispered out the first words. "Akes, I'm not alone, am I?"_

 _A deep voice like despair and love responded. "No, I will never leave you alone. I have not been long, but I know that you and I cannot exist without one another, Nasazi."_

 _Nasazi. He tried out his new name, the taste of it lingering on his tongue. Burning Light. Sun. And then he felt reassured because he knew that this being whom he named, and who named him, would never leave Nasazi._

 _Time passed, and then Nasazi felt another Presence. This one was different than Akes; she felt like Burning Light but softer. Gentler. Her voice was every bit as she felt. "Hello?"_

 _Burning Light felt something warm–the opposite of cold– find its way onto his face. A smile, he would call it. Similar warmth flared in his chest. "Hello, Hasmae!" Guiding Light. Moon._

 _Then something happened. There was Something other than them–whatever they were–in the Nothing. He could_ see _it. The Something was very small but bright with possibilities and wonder. As he looked upon it, Nasazi knew from that moment–as he had decided to call that short amount of Time–that he would protect this Something with all his being. That was his purpose._

 _As the Something grew, they all agreed to call it a universe._

* * *

 _After a long unknown amount of time passed (they liked to call it an eon), the universe kept expanding. However, the Presences were worried for this Something, because although it was growing, there was no development or change. Maybe now it was time for them to actually do something to help this growing universe._

 _But what?_

 _They wandered around the universe, looking for anything that could possibly be the answer. Eventually, they stopped to rest their search. Then it happened. Nasazi extended his senses to an extremely large planet–but not planet–in the first galaxy in the universe, and suddenly, he was Somewhere. This was strange because ever since he first came to be, Burning Light had always just been Nowhere and Everywhere._

 _But now, he was Somewhere. And when his presence was in this planet-but-not-planet, it burst into light and flames, and the universe developed under this physical manifest of Burning Light, Nasazi, Sun._

 _That was when he discovered how he was to carry out his purpose._

* * *

 _As the universe grew, much time passed and the gap since the Sun Spirit had seen Akes only lengthened._ _He missed him. Sure, they were literal opposites, but they needed one another in order to be. Nasazi had other Presences to watch over and love; Moon, Land, Ocean, Fire, Wind, Snow, Tree, and so many more._

 _But he missed Darkness._

 _Though Akes could be very cold and all-around…_ dark _…at times, he was just as much comforting and warm. Sometimes, Nasazi wished he could simply close his eyes and take comfort in the darkness behind them, shut everything out and pretend all was okay._

 _But it wasn't, because Akes wasn't there, and their family would never be complete without him._

 _He couldn't find him. In all the places his searching fingers of sunlight reached, Darkness wasn't. Perhaps it was because while they could not be without the other, neither could they dwell in one another's presence. And Burning Light, though he had so many following him, and though he had his Guiding Light (who he loved so very very much, more than anything else), was lonely without Akes._

 _So lonely._

* * *

 _The Darkness and the Light met again when human beings had spread across the entirety of the first planet. A human, suddenly and without warning, massacred fifteen of his own prior to attempting to kill himself. Luckily, he was restrained before he could injure himself too badly._

 _Nothing like this had ever occurred before. It was worrying to say the least. What caused the man to do what he did? Nasazi had a strange feeling about all of it, and decided to visit the man himself._

 _And when Burning Light looked into the man's eyes, he knew exactly what had caused it._

 _Darkness was lurking in his soul._

 _Nasazi heard the familiar, comforting deep voice in his head. "It has been a long time Sun…look at what I have done. Now I can join the rest of you, and none of us have to be apart."_

 _The Sun Spirit stood in shocked silence, partly from happiness at finally seeing his other half again and the possibility of him staying, and partly in horror, imagining all humans filled with Darkness that unintentionally caused them act on their other,_ darker _half, and hurt others of their kind._

 _He wanted Akes back…but he couldn't allow any more humans to die in such an awful way. After all, he couldn't separate Akes, Shade, from Nuon, Nothing. Not in his current form._

 _Nasazi, already beginning to weep, made himself corporal and walked towards the possessed man, golden light burning from his outstretched palms. The man struggled on the chair in which he was constrained. Sun heard Akes in his head, pleading with him, begging him not to do it. At the same time, he heard Nuon cursing him, promising revenge._

 _He gently laid his burning thumbs on the lids of the man's closed eyes, and incinerated the Darkness clinging to his soul. He felt Akes slink back into the shadows, howling in anguish and agony. The man simply breathed out a sigh of relief and Sun moved the burning light to his wounds, healing him completely._

 _"Gomen, Akes, gomen, gomen, gomen," he sobbed, chanting over and over again._

 _Words were whispered in the chamber, felt in the Sun's very being. "Nasazi…how could you?"_

 _That was the last time the Sun Spirit heard the Darkness._

* * *

Nato sat up, wide awake. Then he regretted it.

"Itetetetetetete…" he murmured, clutching his head. It hurt so much…in fact, that was the story for practically every inch of his body. Though as he looked down at the small cuts on his legs and arms he noticed they were already almost fully healed. He always had possessed remarkable regenerative abilities. Even Hina-

His eyes widened dramatically as he remembered something very important. "Hina!" He yelled, hoping for a response. There was no sound except for his own harsh breathing. He called out again and again. Still no response, not even a whisper of movement.

Nato attempted to stand, as his light could give him a better look of the room if he moved around, but just as before (and perhaps even more), he regretted it. He cried out in absolute agony. There was an awful pain flaring in his left leg, and Nato could see black spots dancing on the edge of his vision. He took a few deep, calming breaths. Then he looked at his still screaming leg.

He gagged at the revolting sight. His leg was defiantly not supposed to be twisted in that direction–and was that white stuff bone? As a healer, Nato knew that he needed to bind his leg with a stick or something for support. And he hated to think how badly Hinata was injured if he was like this.

In another attempt to find her, Nato reached his senses down into the cave, searching for Hinata's heartbeat. He found her, but his own heart nearly stopped. Her heartbeat was very faint.

Ignoring the scorching fire in his leg, the bright haired child dragged himself over to her. He could deal with his leg later. Right now Hinata needed his full attention.

He sat by her side, taking in her injuries, calculating what he needed to help her, starting at her head. Then he got a good look at her torso. He nearly did throw up, but held it back. A healer couldn't freak out at such an injury. His first priority was to help her. He could empty the contents of his stomach after he made sure she would live.

 _Seriously, have some priorities, stomach._

From what he could see in the dim light of his skin, a sharp pointy rock had fallen and pierced Hinata's right side, and warm blood was flowing freely to the cold stone floor. While he was panicking inwardly, Nato carefully pulled off the shirt he wore over his underclothes, and did his best to stanch the flow while the rock was still in the wound. He knew he needed to get the rock out, but he also knew if he did so the blood would only flow more freely.

He didn't know what to do.

Did he take it out now? Or did he wait for help and just do the best he could to stop more blood from spilling out? Hinata's life, his best friend's life, _his Guiding Light's life_ depended on this decision. Nato could feel tears fall down his cheeks, and he despaired at the thought of losing her. He felt so _helpless_.

He didn't like that feeling.

Then, like a light being turned on in a dark room, he remembered the strange dreams he had while unconscious. Except, he knew they weren't simply dreams. Rather, if his inkling was correct, they were memories. Memories of Nasazi's existence.

 _My existence._

He remembered the last one, glowing hands filled with power healing the man of all his wounds. A thread of hope weaved through Nato's ancient spirit. He didn't let the crucial question ' _how?'_ bother him. It didn't matter. He _would_ do it.

He peeled aside the shirt he was pressing down on the wound, carefully pulling the rock out. Hinata whimpered in pain. He flinched. The rock clattered to the cave floor. The golden-haired child pressed his hands down firmly on the wound even as the flow of blood started anew with greater vigor.

Nato let his heart take over, and he pushed all of his emotions into his hands. Sorrow, fear, hope, love. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

In little time, a light emitted from his hands and poured into the wound. He could tell that the light was incinerating all impurities that may have entered the injury, cleaning it thoroughly. Then the torn flesh knitted itself back together, leaving nothing behind but wet blood. There was no scar, not even a trace.

Then the exhaustion hit him like several tons of bricks. He would have fallen over if it weren't for the gentle embrace wrapped around him.

"Are y-you okay, Nato?"

The tears started anew.

 _Hinata is alive._

"What's wrong?" There was a pause and then she gasped. Nato figured she had seen his torn up leg. "We need to b-bind it right a-away. I'll go-"

He simply held her in return.

"N-N-Nato?"

He shook his head, burying it in her shoulder.

 _ **BOOM!**_

Light streamed into the cavern. Both children looked up. The concerned faces of Dimos, Kahina, Inwoe, Sura, and Elder Jal peered down at them. They in return saw the dirty faces of two relieved children; one even paler than usual, and the other tear-stained and lined with exhaustion.

The rescuers carefully clambered into the cavern, and Kahina fell onto her knees beside the children, wrapping them tightly in her arms.

The moment she did so, the dark spots that had been dancing on the edge of Nato's vision finally spread to cover all of it, and Nato– _Nasazi–_ fell into a deep sleep.


	19. The Visitors

**Greetings! Another quick update! The end of my first semester is in a week or two, and even though I have lots of tests to study for and performances to practice, I somehow always find myself working on this. Anyway, the winter holidays are coming up and this book is in its final (and greatest) adventure. Feel free to review this chapter and the upcoming ones. Make predictions and ask questions.**

 **Some random thoughts that have nothing to do with this story or fanfiction in general:**

 **How do you explain color to someone who has been blind their entire life? How do you describe a specific color to this person?**

 **Isn't it strange how 'Whole' and 'Hole' sound exactly the same but mean almost opposite things? And how they're spelled almost the same, only 'Whole' is complete and 'Hole' is missing something?**

 **(End thoughts on random matters.)**

 **Great (Guest): I read your review and inspiration struck. There's a little section in the first part of this chapter based on it.**

 **EDIT (12/5/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

 **Almost Three Years After Leaving Anusuli, Son Goku's Day**

The years flew by as the Yaunkur tribe traveled all across the Elemental Continent. In that time, much had changed in the world and in the young children of the tribe. Nato and Hinata had grown to become the best of friends and amazing almost-eleven-year-olds.

After the incident in the caves, it took a while for both of them to heal completely. Because of Nato's healing, the young girl had only needed a few weeks of rest and a blood transfusion of sorts before she was in full health. As for Nato, because of the Kurama and his own regenerative abilities, he only needed about the same amount of time to heal his leg. Without Kurama, he probably would have required much more time, and even then his leg would never have been the same in strength and ability.

Also, ever since the first showing of memories from Nasazi, Nato had received many more throughout the years. None of them seemed as important as the first though. They were all just bits and flashes, so he remembered the first the best. And ever since, if he was given any time alone at all, his mind would sneak back to think about the last memory of the first showing. He couldn't help but wonder…was Nasazi really right in doing what he did to Akes?

He often thought back to it; burning thumbs, flashing light, Darkness screaming. It haunted him, made him wake up late at night with a soft gasp. What if there had been another way to help both the possessed man and Akes? Was Nasazi too quick in his actions?

When these thoughts began to once again fester in his mind, he shook his head in attempt to clean himself of them. He couldn't afford to be distracted today. Today was Ooyake, the Night of Demons. This was a night celebrated (or feared) by the entire continent, though especially the Yaunkur, as they were closer to demons and other "mythical" creatures than any other people.

Nato took a rare glance at his reflection on the glassy surface of the slowly flowing water. Normally he cared very little for his physical appearance (for quite a few obvious reasons), but at this moment he was compelled to sneak a look.

His auntie Kahina had woven his long strands of hair into a radiant bronze-painted headdress. Over the years, Nato's hair darkened from a bright yellow-gold to a brilliant red-gold, so it matched well with the bronze. His robes were red, yellow, and orange, the designs twirling and flaring like flames, fitting in nicely with the headdress. He wore no shoes, as demons were known to be wild and free creatures, so they naturally disliked them. This Nato could understand (he was not one to wear shoes when there was little reason to), along with their mischievous urges. Not for the first time, the almost-eleven-year-old boy realized just how much he had in common with these creatures.

Now he just needed the makeup and the mask. Then he would be the most frightening demon at the celebration. Though there was one thing bothering him… his blue eyes didn't particularly match. He thought for a moment with his eyes closed and then they snapped back open as an idea came to him.

"Nato! It's your turn!"

He would have to implement his plan later. He turned away from the river and looked to Kahina, who had just finished up Hinata's makeup. Hinata approached the river and Nato just couldn't stop staring.

She was beautiful.

His best friend was dressed as a demon from the deep, dark depths of the ocean. Her shoulder-blade length midnight hair was intricately braided, silver and royal blue ribbons woven into it. Swirls of the same colors painted her face, delicately dancing around her pearl like eyes. Her long blue robes had horizontal lines of lavender running along it in graceful and bold strokes. Her sleeves draped down the porcelain skin of her arms, looking like falling waves of water.

Nato felt something strange, but not unpleasant fluttering in his stomach as Hinata turned to him, her index fingers tapping against each other nervously.

"Wow, Hina! You're so pretty, ya know!"

A fierce blush crawled up to her cheeks, making her face look more fitting to Nato's costume. He walked up to her, obvious concern on his own face.

"Are you okay, Hina? You look kind of sick."

"I-I-I-I'm fine, really." In her time with the Yaunkur, Hinata's stutter had almost completely disappeared, only appearing when she was extremely flustered. Nato wondered what could have possibly made her so. However, he was saved from thinking about it too long when his aunt called for him again.

"Oh, I've gotta go, Hina! See you later!" He gave her a small wave goodbye. She returned it rather timidly. Nato raced (watching out for the robes) to his currently impatient aunt, and sat on a short stool while she worked her magic. Nato was certainly glad that it was Kahina doing his makeup; the last time he tried to paint Nila's face the endeavor ended up in absolute disaster.

"Okay, finished!" Nato shot up and ran back to the river. He looked at his face decorated with bold red and gold lines shooting from around his eyes. He pouted and ran back to Kahina, calling, "Kahina-oba!"

She turned and upon seeing the look on his face said, "what? I think you look very handsome."

"But I'm suppose' to be frightening, ya know!"

Kahina rolled her eyes. "Demons aren't just scary. They also try to deceive humans of their true nature by disguising themselves."

Nato sighed deeply. "Fine." He began to sulk back to the river, but a voice caused him to be still.

"Well, I think it's my turn, 'Kah."

"Dimos-oji!" Nato exclaimed. "You're back!" He took in his uncle's tied back hair and pierced ears. His uncle had left early that morning to get some last necessary items for the party. He was just in time as the sun would soon be setting, and Ooyake would begin.

Dimos reached down and was about to ruffle Nato's hair, but saw the headdress and quickly stopped his hand's descent. He knew if he messed up the boy's hair now, Dimos would suffer his wife's wrath. That was never something he looked forward to.

As Dimos sat down on the stool, Nato scurried back to their family's tent, searching around inside for his mask. Eventually he found it laying on his mat, right out in the open. He grabbed it and slipped the full-face mask on. It was a shade lighter than his headdress, and engraved with fierce strokes, which gave it a frightening feel. The mouth of the mask was curled into an animalistic snarl.

Now you might be wondering, why would he need makeup if he was wearing a mask? It was purely for when he took the mask off to eat, so his face could be as decorated as the rest of him. They couldn't have any demons catching him with it off and subsequently seeing he wasn't actually one of them.

 _Now for the final touch._

Nato slipped into the mindscape with practiced ease, coming to face the humongous form of his friend, Kurama, or the Kyuubi as known by many. The fox demon lounged comfortably on an enormous grassy island in the sewers of Nato's mind.

The decorated boy climbed up one of the demon's fuzzy paws, and stood in front of one of the giant eyes belonging to the head resting on it. The red eye opened lazily.

 **"What do you want, Kit?"**

"What?" The boy pouted playfully. "No hello for me?"

The eye glared at him. **"I will rip you into tiny, tiny, bloody pieces one day for waking me up."**

"You're so mean, Kurama!" The giant eye rolled and there was a moment of silence. "Kurama, tonight is Ooyake, ya know that, right?" Nato looked away from the red eye.

 **"Of course I know that. You're looking at one of the greatest demons ever!"**

"Of course, of course." The boy looked again at Kurama. "Can you give me red eyes and fangs so I look even more demonic and awesome?"

 **"…"**

"Please!" Nato brought out the puppy eyes.

Kurama grumbled. **"Fine."**

Nato reached up and wrapped his arms as far as he could around the fox demon's snout, exclaiming, "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The demon grumbled some more.

The young boy exited the mindscape, and immediately raced back to the lake. Seeing the red eyes instead of blue and the fangs hidden underneath his mask, he whooped with joy.

* * *

The Yaunkur stood by and watched as the last rays of light faded from the sky. When they finally did, the festivities began.

On Ooyake, it was believed that the demons' realm was closer to the humans' than it was at any other time of the year. Because of this, demons would pour into the world and cause chaos. The humans thought that if they disguised themselves as demons, then the real creatures wouldn't bring them any mischief. Almost everyone participates in the festival, for fear of demonic trouble.

Because of their costumes, Inwoe and Nato stuck close to each other. The reason for this wasn't because their costumes complimented each other's; it had everything to do with what their abilities were. Nato was dressing as a fire demon, and Inwoe as a wind demon. Just in case they needed to perform anything, Nato would be by Inwoe and control the wind, and Inwoe would be by Nato to bend fire. Sura and Hinata were both being water demons of a sort, so they had no worries when it came to that.

Tribe members danced barefooted in the soft grass, the stars looking down on them as they twirled. Others sat by a fire and ate a flatbread (called _rastik_ in Kae) with different sauces while listening to an ancient Elder tell stories of even older demons. Some children also sat around the fire with Kiki's little kits (their elderly mother having passed a few months ago), cuddling them close. The Benders (as others called their group), spent some time doing all of these things.

However, it was only three hours into the night when the merry atmosphere turned dark.

"Help us! Please help us!"

The criers stumbled into the clearing; three middle aged men and two women. None of them were Yaunkur, and with his healer's eyes Nato could tell all of them were gravely injured, some more than others. The young boy and his master (the Head Healer, Razi) along with the few other healers in the tribe, rushed over to the visitors as they collapsed. Immediately they began emergency treatment on them. Celebrations stopped and the other tribe members tried to help in any way they could, whether by fetching clean water, searching for herb supplies, or by waiting nearby and staying out of the way.

It was some long minutes before the visitors were deemed stable enough to move to the healer's tent for more extensive care. The next few hours were some of the most exhausting Nato had ever experienced. There was constant worry as the healers watched over their patients, trying to get them to the point where they were no longer in great life-threatening danger.

When their patients were stable, Kahina and Dimos conferred with the Elders about the news they received from Razi and the steps they needed to take next. There was also the problem of what happened to those people in order for all of them to be in such horrendous conditions, and if it was a threat to the Yaunkur, more specifically the children. It was tradition that on the morning after Ooyake, all of the children over ten years of age would together leave the rest of the tribe to complete a task given to them by Dimos, Kahina, and the Elders. Though a couple of adults always came with them too, just to make sure the children didn't get themselves killed or worse.

However, this particular year it seemed as if things were going to be a bit different. Sure enough, after some deliberating Dimos came out and spoke to the tribe as a whole, announcing the task for the children to complete.

"In order for two of these visitors to be completely healed they need a rare herb, called juki, which can be nearest found in the large town of Gyre, a little over three days' travel from here. This will be the task for our children to complete."

There was some quiet whispering and hushed conversations between the Yaunkur people, but soon everyone made their way to bed, settling down for the rest of the night. There were going to be no more celebrations on this dark night. Eventually Nato was also excused from the healer's tent, told (much to his disappointment but understanding) he could not go on the children's trip as he was needed there at the moment, and to get some sleep. He only took off the headdress, not bothering to pull off his robes or washed the makeup off. He practically fell asleep as he walked over to his tent.

Only Hinata had trouble sleeping. The faces of their visitors kept troubling her. For some reason, even though they were injured and harmless and probably decent human beings, she didn't like them.

Not one bit.

* * *

At dawn, the children going on the trip, plus a few others, assembled in the same clearing the previous night's celebrations had taken place. There were about twenty-five in all who would be journeying to Gyre, including three adults in their late twenties and early thirties. Each person was carrying at least a small satchel packed with scrolls containing extra clothing, provisions, mats, and an assortment of other necessary items. They were almost ready to go.

Nato gave Hinata a grin as the two gave each other farewells. Honestly, neither of them had been far apart for long since the young girl joined the tribe.

"Well, see you in a bit, Hina."

"Yeah… see you in a bit."

Hinata couldn't help but feel she and Nato would be apart for more than "a bit". With that thought and a rush of emotion, she threw herself into Nato's arms, giggling slightly at his surprised expression. The Moon Spirit whispered a warning in Nato's ear. His eyes widened but he nodded in confirmation, holding his dear friend a little closer. They held each other like that for a brief moment, and then departed.


	20. Beginning of the End

**Here's another chapter since I'm quite excited for these next chapters. I honestly have no idea how I got this out so fast. No idea whatsoever.**

 **As always, please give me any feedback; constructive criticism, predictions, questions, random comments with no relevancy at all, etc.**

 **SunlitSky21: Thank you so much! As for your question, yes, their bending looks like the bending in Avatar, but they don't need to do the different forms and such.**

 **AlphaMike369: And rightfully so.**

 **Great (Guest): We'll just have to see! (Really, sometimes I look back at what I've written and realize, "that's not what I planned, but let's go with it!")**

 **EDIT (12/5/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Shalom Chaverim.**

* * *

 **Three Days After Ooyake**

While he cared for five visitors, Nato kept Hinata's warning in mind.

 _"I don't like them. There's something about the way they arrived here with all of those injuries that seems off. How did they know we were here, why didn't we sense them, and why did they come to us for help? People tend to dislike and distrust us. Why didn't they? And why on Ooyake, the Night of Demons?"_

Nato understood his friend's concerns and knew to trust her. Many times in the past her insight and thoughts had proven right. She was always able to tell when someone was lying, even if the person was an expert at it.

When one of the visitors, a woman named Hirwasa, woke up around noon the day after Ooyake, Nato was there to hear her story about a late night carriage ride to the nearby town, and shadowy shapes attacking them with darkness. Apparently she and her companions were the only ones on the carriage and they had been awake enough to drag themselves towards the light coming from the Yaunkur celebrations.

Nato had a good idea of what the "shadowy shapes" were. Demons. After all it was Ooyake and these people were obviously not dressed as the creatures. Now that he thought of it, their injuries also look quite a bit like claw and bite marks.

Soon after Hirwasa woke up, the four others did also. The first was the footman, Takeo, then Hirwasa's husband, Yatoshi, third was her sister, Halei, and finally the coachman, Gyushin. The two servants were the ones in need of the juki herb. Because they were on the outside of the carriage when the demons attacked, they received the most serious injuries, and had both contracted a specific illness only shadow demons could give (well, also an equally rare flower high in the mountains, but they obviously hadn't eaten that). The other three were mostly hurt just by the jostling and collapse of the carriage.

Even after three days of healing, Gyushin and Takeo were too weak to move off of their mats, and they probably would be until the other children got back with the juki herb. The others had various fractured bones, scrapes, and bruises, but they were up and moving around only two days into the healing process.

Nato sighed. Sure, it was interesting and exciting to actually be practicing the skills he learned under Rinne, but he really did wish he could have gone to Gyre with Hinata!

"Bright Soul?" The voice was gentle and motherly and full of curiosity. The young boy looked up into Halei's wide eyes.

"Yeah? Do you need anything, 'Lei?" In the short time he had known her, he had grown to like this curious woman and all of her storytelling abilities. She could give the Elders a good run for their money. When she told a story, it was like listening to captivating music. He was careful though because of Hinata's warning.

"No, I was just wondering if you wanted to hear another story." Nato's eyes light up.

"Oh, yes, yes, please!" Halei laughed at his enthusiasm, and began weaving an enchanting tale of a princess and her lizard-like friend.

However, she wasn't able to get very far as a young girl ran up, calling, "Niichan, Niichan! Come quick!" Nato knew she was talking about him. He gave a hasty apology to Halei, and followed the girl to a tall cliff side less than a minute away.

He took in the situation. It seemed as though the kids were playing a game when the ball got caught up in a tree growing out of the cliff wall. One kid had gone up to retrieve it but got stuck before he could get to it. Honestly, Nato was kind of impressed they managed to get the ball stuck up there in the first place.

Large feathery wings matching the color of Nato's hair sprouted from his back. He took to the air, flying straight up to the desperately clinging child. As he neared, the little boy took one hand off of the branch and threw the other around Nato's neck, and then removed the hand still gripping the branch. Nato carefully lowered the both of them to the ground. The wings disappeared in a flash of light.

As he considered the ball, Nato's eyes narrowed in thought. It was hidden pretty well in the branches, and it didn't look like he could get it by flying. It was too cramped. That decided it. Nato raised one hand and made a small swishing movement. As he did so, a gust of wind blew through the branches the ball was nestled in, shaking it to the ground. The ball was collected by one of the children, and a chorus of "thank you, niichan" sounded from their lips.

From the shadows, Halei watched as Bright Soul somehow scolded and praised the kids at the same time, a greedy glint in her eyes.

* * *

One of the greatest advantages and disadvantages of being on the road was that there was plenty of time to think. Which was a good thing, because it gave Hinata time to sort some things out, which was a bad thing because she didn't particularly want to sort them out. So when they finally arrived in Gyre that afternoon, Hinata was relieved for the distraction.

However, as they split up into smaller groups of three and wandered around the town searching for someone selling the juki herb, Hinata saw kissing couples wherever she looked. For some reason, when she saw such scenes her mind instantly trailed to Nato, her best friend. She flushed at the thought of him.

Over the years Hinata began to realize that what she felt for him wasn't simply that of a bond between siblings or friends. She loved Nato in a different way, the way she imagined Kahina and Dimos loved each other, or the way she remembered King Minato glancing at Queen Kushina and how she looked back. Hinata just needed to gather the courage to tell the dense Yaunkur boy, but while she did want to tell him, she didn't want to ruin the relationship they already had.

Though with the recent events, specifically the injured visitors, Hinata had a strong feeling that if she didn't tell Nato soon, she would never get the chance to do so. She hoped Nato took her warning to heart and kept up his guard around the strange visitors, so that he would be there when she returned. And when she did return, maybe Hinata would confess. Her cheeks heated up unbearably at the thought and she felt as if she were going to faint.

Or maybe not.

* * *

Nato awoke to both burning light and pressing darkness. The smell of smoke and despair lingered in his nose, and the urgent pounding of drums sounding in his blood and in his head. He stumbled up from his mat, and headed out of the tent. Why did he feel so tired and weak? Behind him he could see his uncle, aunt, and cousins struggling to even open their eyes, much less get to their feet.

Then he turned his eyes to what laid outside. His eyes widened in horror and shock. The camp was on fire. A figure walked out of the flames, coming towards him.

 _Halei._

She stopped when she saw Nato. Even though her face was covered in shadow, the boy could detect the surprise on her face.

"How are you even awake? And standing too…" What did she mean by that? "You will certainly sell for a good price."

Nato was given no time to register this before he collapsed and faded into darkness.

* * *

Hinata and all of the other Yaunkur camping on the edges of Gyre awoke suddenly. In their heads were the desperately pounding drums. They sounded just as Hinata imagined, except her blood wasn't singing. It was crying out in agony.

She was confused and scared, and when she looked around Hinata saw similar expressions on other faces. Weren't the drums of the migration song only supposed to be heard when it was time to head back to Anusuli every four years?

Emine, the sixteen-year-old girl who had appointed herself leader of the mission, looked just as frightened as the rest of them, but she put up a brave face and moved to comfort some of the more vocal children. Sura and Inwoe made their way over to Hinata and the three sat back to back in a tight circle for comfort. They were some of the youngest on the trip, this being their first time.

But they were missing someone; Nato. Hinata closed her eyes and wished, wished so hard for him to be okay. If Nato, the one who brought her to this tribe, _the one she loved more than anything else_ , was hurt or worse, she didn't know what she'd do.

 _Please be okay, Nato. Please take care of yourself. Please, please, please!_

Soon the three adults who had come with them decided that since no one could go back to sleep and they already acquired enough juki, it would be best to start heading back to where the rest of their tribe was. Everyone, some wiping tears away, packed all of their things back into the scrolls, and placed them in their satchels. When they were ready, the Yaunkur who were left behind headed back home, moving much faster than they had on the way out.

* * *

When they had walked for two days, and where only about one left from their camp, they were attacked. A shadowy figure jumped from the trees overhead, and stabbed one of the adults in the group, a large and burly Yaunkur man. He fell to the ground, shouting out a hoarse warning. Luckily, the rest of the Yaunkur were still tense and ready from the drums which had ceased the previous day. One of the adults, a small woman named Charo, opened the ground beneath their attacker while some other earth affinities made barriers to make sure he couldn't jump away.

Their attacker had obviously not been expected such coordinated and quick responses. He fell into the hole and agilely Charo closed the ground again. She would leave the Land to decide how to deal with him.

Hinata and many of the other children were already by the stabbed man's side, trying to heal him. Unfortunately, none of them were healers; they were all at the camp because of the injured visitors. The man died, and the twenty-four Yaunkur spent the rest of the day mourning him. They cremated his body as in Yaunkur tradition, and scattered his ashes to the wind.

That night, as they continued to rest and mourn, Hinata hoped they wouldn't have to do that for anyone else for many years to come.

* * *

" _Shalom chaverim, shalom chaverim, shalom, shalom!"_

A day later, as they neared the camp, Hinata smelled smoke on the breeze. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the pillar of the dark substance rising into the endless sky of blue, tainting it. She ran, heedless of the voices calling behind her.

" _Lehitraot, lehitraot, shalom, shalom!"_

She raced through the hidden forest paths, dark hair flowing like a rampant river, feet moving faster than they had in a long while. The smell of smoke was growing stronger, and Hinata could practically see it dancing darkly in the air.

" _Have peace my friends, be safe my friends, have peace, have peace!"_

She knew she could simply activate her byakugan and see what was coming up, but she didn't think she could handle the sight so soon. No, she would wait to see with her naked, inactivated eyes. She also knew the smoke could only be from a campfire, or something of the sort, but with all that happened, she doubted it.

" _Till we meet again, till we meet again, have peace, have peace!"_

Then she crested the hill and took in the horrific sight before her. There was nothing left. Nothing but piles of ashes and smoking tent poles.

" _Shalom chaverim, shalom chaverim, shalom, shalom!"_

Hinata fell to her knees and wept, while a mocking song of peace and joy sang softly in the back of her mind.

" _Lehitraot, lehitraot, shalom, shalom!"_

* * *

 **So maybe you could tell from the scene earlier, I'm not a huge fan of fight scenes, so it's kind of short. Sorry for those of you who do. Also, I bet you can all tell what will or is going to happen the Yaunkur who were in the camp with the visitors. I can promise all of you that there will be no sexual stuff in this story, or anything really explicit. I don't really do that sort of stuff, so don't worry. But if you do think I need to change the rating of the story, please do say so.**


	21. The Scattering

**Just four more days of school!**

 **Here's another chapter!**

 **Great (Guest): I'll keep that in mind.**

 **AlphaMike369: Well, read on and see what happens.**

 **EDIT (12/6/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own the plot of this story and my own original characters.**

* * *

Nato felt as though he were in cart jouncing down a bumpy country road. He kept his eyes closed because he knew he couldn't possibly be in a cart. He was simply sleeping on solid ground in his tent. Wasn't he? Then, at a particularly large bump and the sound of jostling metal, Nato was forced to face the reality of his situation.

He opened his eyes. He was definitely not in his tent.

The boy was lying down with his head on Kahina's lap, Roni and Nila lying in front of him, the little girl's head in the crook of his elbow and her brother's on her stomach. Dimos sat next to his wife, his arm around her comfortingly as he spoke to Kahina in soft whispers. It was dark, and not in a comforting way. Then Nato finally noticed it. There were heavy, cold chains fastened their ankles and wrists together, leaving enough chain to walk and move arms about a meter apart, but not enough to run freely and swing fists at full power. He looked at his forearm and found a plain, slim metal band covering his Yaunkur mark. He saw similar ones on every other person in his line of sight.

He shot up, braided hair flying, accidentally jostling Nila and Roni from their sleep. Kahina gave a small start of surprise as her children awoke suddenly. Nato turned to her. "Kahina-oba, this isn't what I think it is, is it?"

She looked away and whispered in return. "I'm afraid so. It's my fault. My eye was closed to it. I didn't see it coming."

Her husband and children began to comfort her, along with some of the other Yaunkur in the cart, but movement suddenly halted, and the back doors to the cart were flung open, and dazzling light streamed in. It hurt Nato's eyes. Everyone stood up as far as they possibly could with the low ceiling, shuffling towards the open door at the command of a man's voice. With some effort, everyone managed to exit the cart, and Nato glanced back to see several other carts that looked exactly the same being unloaded, Yaunkur flowing out. He frowned. He couldn't see anyone older than sixty among them. Where were the Elders? He looked around some more. They were in a slave market, and Nato (even as dense as he was) knew what was going to happen to them.

"Be quiet, you filthy brats!" Nato whipped around, and upon seeing his little cousins on the dusty ground, the man (who Nato now recognized as Gyushin, the one pretending to be the coachman) preparing to strike them.

Nato felt a deep rage ignite in his bones, a degree of anger he never experienced before. As quick as a fox he smashed his chakra infused foot into the sneering man's groin, unheeding of the chains around his ankles. Gyushin doubled over with an expression of absolute agony.

But before the jinchuuriki could do anything more, he felt a palm slam against his back, and he collapsed, no longer possessing the power to even hold himself up. His surroundings faded once more.

* * *

Those who were left behind searched through the ruins of the camp. It was when they came across the large tent in which the meeting between the Elders took place that they saw the true damage done. There were thirteen charred corpses, exactly matching the number of Elders Hinata had come to love and adore. Hinata and quite a few other children leaned to the side and threw up.

Hinata had spent the first almost eight years of her life in an ancient shinobi clan, so she knew what death was. But she was also sheltered by her father as he wanted her to grow to be a perfect lady, a queen. To see the ones she had loved killed in such a way was too much.

After seeing that, Charo and Uwais (the other adult, a tall and agile and serious young man who looked much older than his years) ushered all but the oldest and most mature children back into the forest, away from the smoldering camp. The children barely spoke to one another in that time in the forest as they waited for their leaders to come back. All they could do was weep.

When they did come back, they left to scatter the ashes of the Elders, along with a few others, and the camp. To scatter what was left of their old life.

* * *

Nato watched in horror as one by one his fellow Yaunkur, his _family_ , were marched onto the wooden platform, chains clanking, and sold off as if they were livestock, mere objects. How could people do this to them? How could they do this to anyone?

Now Nato was no stranger to the practice of slavery. They, the Yaunkur, were nomads and traders and as such they did a lot of traveling, so with everything that Nato had seen he had been bound to come across at least one slave market. Though the Yaunkur were not slave traders and had no desire to own any, these markets tended to be connected to others where they did sell some of their wares, forcing them to go through the slave markets.

Of course, this is not to mention the fact that Nato had always been very curious and full of energy, and sometimes it led him to unintentionally stumbling into places like these. He just never imagined or even considered the thought that him and his precious family would ever be the ones led in chains to that dreaded platform.

One essential reason for this was that the Yaunkur tended to spend most of their time in the Five Great Nations because of the fact that those nations had abandoned the practice of slavery a long time ago, unlike many of the smaller countries. (Not to say they didn't go to any of those smaller nations. They were traders and nomads, and as such they loved to see and visit different places.) The second and probably most important factor was the Land who protected them. However, for some unknown reason, this time she didn't, couldn't most likely. At least, that was what Nato hoped.

 _Why?_

Because of the large seal which had been placed on his back while unconscious (and the metal band on his mark), Nato could do nothing but watch helplessly as his Aunt Kahina and Uncle Dimos were separated, sold to two different masters.

 _Why?_

Nato clutched Nila and Roni at his sides, holding them tightly as they sobbed and called out to their parents. He made sure they didn't try to run to them or fight back at this moment, unaware of his own tears sliding down his whiskered cheeks. He didn't want them to make the same mistake as he did and be restrained even further. Because looking back on it now, he probably should have waited to use his power and chakra later when there was a better opportunity instead of lashing out and revealing his capabilities. Though he didn't regret kicking _that_ man in–ahem–a very delicate place.

 _Why them?_

The previous thought was quickly thrown away when the slavers grabbed his shoulders and attempted to tear him away from his cousins. His eyes flashed as he resisted, holding the two even tighter. When the twins realized that someone was now taking their big brother away too, they screamed and clung and kicked, determined to keep Nato.

More slavers came over to help stop the small rebellion. Nato kicked, clawed, scratched, and bit; he wouldn't leave his little cousins alone. They needed him!

He was thrown to the dusty dirt, face first. There was a whistle that sounded in the air as a whip came down sharply on Nato's back, and the eleven-year-old cried out softly, before biting down on his bottom lip. The whip came down four more times. With blood pouring from the broken skin of his lip he saw the one holding the whip move towards Roni and Nila. Forcing himself to stand even as pain flared up in fiery lines on his back, he shoved his way to them. He threw himself in the way of the descending whip and felt it leave a burning mark on his chest. Overwhelmed, he fell to the ground once again and laid there.

Through the haze of pain, he saw the whip fall on his cousins and heard them cry out, for their mother, their father, Hinata, and _him_.

 _Why them?_

His hand lashed out and grabbed onto the man's ankle, his nails digging into it. The whip stopped its descend and the man's attention turned to Nato. The discipliner sneered and graciously gave Nato five more lashes.

Arms hauled him up from under his arms and dragged him to the platform. Nato reached one last time for the twins, his precious cousins, and they to him. Alas, they did not reach far enough.

 _WHY?_

Nato found himself facing the large crowd that had shown up when word got out that members of the famous Yaunkur tribe were to be sold today.

The auctioneer began to speak. "From the information we have received, this eleven-year-old male was raised in the Head Family. He is known by most as Bright Soul. He is an apprentice healer, able to control the wind as easily as others talk and walk, can create wings for himself, has displayed remarkable stamina, spirit, regeneration, and determination, and has shown signs of some shinobi training." Nato faded in and out from the pain as more information was listed about him. "The bid starts at ten gold pieces."

Nato's eyebrows shot up at the price being asked. That was about what was needed for a small but decent house, a small fortune in its own. Most Yaunkur had started from around five to eight gold pieces.

An older woman's hand shot up as she called for it. Suddenly, dozens of other hands shot up like wild fire, and bids were thrown all over the place. Eventually it began to simmer down, and Nato glared defiantly through the flaring pain at the three remaining bidders.

"Fifty gold pieces, going once…twice…SOLD!"

The boy's back screamed as he was dragged from the stand and thrown into the closed back of a cart gestured to by his new 'master'. The chain around his neck was attached to a fixture on the wall inside. Before the door was completely closed Nato caught one last glimpse of his family, his family that was being torn apart and scattered to the wind. He threw himself against the door, banging on it repeatedly.

 _Why?_

Through the cracks between wooden planks, Nato saw the scrawny, short man who had bought him. He was entering a fancy carriage that looked quite conspicuous in its surroundings. A man then grabbed the reins to the cart carrying Nato, snapping them. Nato was thrown back as the cart started with a jolt. As the carriage moved forward and headed out of the market place, the cart followed. It seemed as though the only person this man thought worth his money was him, even without staying for the auction of the others.

With each bump on the rocky road, Nato felt more and more despair weigh on his spirit. He lifted his forearm, looking longingly at the band covering the Yaunkur mark. Unlike usual, there was no comforting warmth coming from what was hidden beneath the metal. A tear fell onto the band.

"Why?" Nato whispered.

He received no answer.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent away from the site of the old camp. The adults and older children planned their next move. The thing was, they didn't really know what to do. Their entire tribe was missing and they had no idea where they could be. And Hinata couldn't stop thinking about Nato, wishing him to be safe, or at least to be smart, wherever he was. He had a tendency to anger people and act before he thought, traits that had gotten them into quite a few tight spots in recent years.

It was decided before too long. They would leave for Suna in the morning.

"Since we currently have a strong relationship with the Wind Country's Second Prince and he is nearest ally to our current position, we will head there tomorrow morning." Charo announced.

The weary group accepted this and laid their heads down on their pillows, ready to sleep even though it was still light outside. They couldn't quite find themselves to care that it was so, for in their hearts, the night had already begun.

* * *

The caravan of the master's carriage and his carts of goods had traveled for the rest of the day. At night the master slept in an inn, while his servants ate and rested outside. Nato, meanwhile was only brought out of the cart for a bathroom break, and then left in there all night without food. Half of the following day was also on the bumpy roads before arriving just before noon. The instant the cart stopped inside the mansion's gates, the doors were flung open and two slaves obviously higher up in the hierarchy jumped in to pull Nato out. One tightly wrapped the loose end of the chain attached to Nato's collar around his arm and the other removed the shackles around his ankles, giving Nato the ability to walk without tripping over everything.

They led him out of the cart and across the grounds to a separate, much smaller building from the main complex. From the corner of his eye, he saw the master being greeted by servant and lead into the mansion. He was roughly pulled inside by the one with his chain and forced to stand in the center of the chamber. Another slave woman walked in, carrying a basket full of white clothing and a bar of soap. Together, the two women stripped Nato, scrubbed him down from head to toe (hair included) with the soap and a bucket full of water, which had already been inside of the room. They washed around the chains on his wrists and the band circling his forearm. They rinsed him off and dressed him in the white sleepwear pants (leaving him with only bandages for a shirt), but not before cleaning and bandaging the wounds on his back and chest, something Nato was very grateful for.

Then they knelt him on the cold stone floor. Nato was shivering. One woman went back to the basket and pulled out a pair of scissors while the other toweled his shoulder length red-golden hair so that it was only slightly damp.

Nato's eyes widened as the metal scissors approached, getting closer and closer.

 _No no no no no no. Not that, please not that!_

He stared unseeing at the stands of sun-colored hair that fell down around him, even as one of the many braids Hinata had woven in not a week earlier fell too.

For the Yaunkur, their long hair was a symbol of pride and honor for them, their family, and their tribe. That was why Nato and most of the clan kept it long, at least to the chin. And for Nato, it was much more than that. He loved the feeling of the wind blowing through the long strands and (secretly or course, as he couldn't openly admit it for the sake of his manly pride) he loved it when Hinata played with it. The long hair was a symbol of his freedom, and now that it was all being cut away, taken from him, his situation finally hit him full force.

 _I am a slave._

Nato was dimly aware of the last red-gold lock–the last tie to his family–falling to rest on the stone floor, and of one of the women pulling him back up into a standing position.

As the scissors were put away, another object came into view, brought in from a separate room. It was a glowing red iron stamp, hot and ready for use. Nato was well aware of what was to come next, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

Someone lifted his bare right foot from the ground and raised the bottom of it towards the ceiling. Then the branding mark came down across the top half of his foot. There was an unbearably hot pain, but Nato refused to cry out. He would not lose what last shards of pride he had remaining. They spread a cream on the mark, but rather than feeling soothing relief, the cream seemed to intensify the burn, eating away at his skin.

The man reattached the chains around his ankles, and led him into another room. Every step was painful. A long hallway stretched on and on, many doors looking quite like those you would see in prisons. The man led him almost to the very end of the hall, opening the second to last door on the left side. He attached the ends of the chains he was holding to a metal loop on the wall. Nato was in a position where he could lay his hands down by his side, but not stand. The man exited the tiny room and shut the door, locking Nato in sudden darkness.

It was so dark. Nato had never really been afraid of the dark, because for him there was never was. Besides, he often found solace in dark places when no one was there. He always felt as though another being reached out to him in the dark…it was nice. But now, the darkness felt like a monster trying to close in on him from all sides, only the faint light coming from beneath his skin keeping it at bay.

He reached a hand up and felt his hair. It was incredibly short, the shortest it had been since he was a very small child.

He remembered the brand. Nato carefully moved his right foot as far as he could towards his face, reading the words burned into his flesh. Inscribed in deep brown lines were some of the most horrible words the young boy had ever seen.

 _"Property of the Drongur Household"_

The child curled in on himself and wept for the last time.


	22. Searching for a Sign

**Merry Christmas, happy Hanukah, happy Kwanzaa, and whatever other holiday you may celebrate in this time. I can't believe this story has been going on for just over a year now. It's kind of amazing to me.**

 **And thank you to all who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story!**

 **To all who reviewed the last few chapters: I really want to respond, but if I did I'd be spoiling things. So just hang on a little longer!**

 **EDIT (12/8/17): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

According to his internal clock, it had been about a week since he was locked up in the room. Not that he had any way of really knowing if he was correct. Light only came from his skin and when the small hatch at the bottom of the door was opened to let in a bowl of water after some undetermined amount of time. No food. No human contact.

Nato was starving and he hated being alone for long periods of time. He couldn't even talk to Kurama. After a few days of it, he just couldn't take it anymore. The combination of hunger, darkness, chains, isolation, and the small enclosed space caused him to panic. He pulled desperately at the chains (around his ankles, neck, and wrists), kicking and screaming, begging to be let out. He didn't want food. He just needed to _get out_. He had never been a fan of small spaces and hated the feeling of being trapped. He had eventually passed out from exhaustion, and awoke some time later to find his wrists and ankles torn and bloody, attempting to heal but unable to. Probably because the chains kept reopening the wounds.

The rest of the week he spent trying to find ways to occupy himself, to avoid another panic attack. He counted the cracks in the walls, wrote imaginary lines in the stone, went over healing herbs and their uses in his head, sang softly to himself, and so on. So after a week of this, he definitely was not expecting to finally have a visitor to his humble little cell.

Nato was counting the cracks on his ceiling again when the master burst into his room with two guards. Immediately, he moved the energy that laid just below his skin and pushed it down, causing all glow to fade to an unnoticeable hue. The master didn't bother talking to him, a lowly slave. _His_ lowly slave. One guard removed the end of the chain belonging to the collar around his neck and wrapped it around his arm, just as the man a week ago had done. With the master leading the way, Nato was led out of the building his cell was in, and to a different one even farther away from the main mansion. Before he even stepped into the building, Nato felt the sorrow and pain radiating from it, and smelled the sterile scent of a hospital.

He also smelled blood. Tons of it.

Unlike other hospitals he encountered previously, this one immediately opened up into a large room lined with beds full of groaning patients. There were a few doctors, or at least people with some medical experience, running around doing their best to attend to as many patients as they could. However, the ratio of medics to patients was too high in the latter's favor. Nato could understand why he was brought here.

The master led them to a specific bed holding a patient who looked much worse than many of the others Nato had passed by. The master commanded, "heal him."

The resistant boy opened his mouth to refuse, but halted when the wounded man pleaded for help. He began to examine his injuries. Healers had a strict code; if anyone asked for their help and they could do something about it, it was their duty to do anything to help the person. Nato didn't want to go back on the promise he made when he was first apprenticed to Razi.

He turned back to face the master. "I need clean bandages, a bowl-"

A fist slamming him into the ground halted his demands. Nato looked up at the guard standing over him. "You will address the master properly and bow your head when you speak, slave." The Yaunkur boy glared at him defiantly. He picked himself up from the cold stone floor and bowed his head.

"Master," he began, his voice filled with barely concealed rage and sarcasm, "I humbly request clean bandages, a-"

He was once again interrupted. "You will receive no such thing, slave." Nato's head snapped up as he looked at the master in absolute disbelief and anger.

"Why not?! I cannot-" Another fist flew and Nato hit the ground again. Blood slipped down his chin from a cut on his lower lip.

"You will heal him in no more than five minutes with nothing but your own two hands." Nato glared again and came to his feet. He bowed his head and cupped his hands over one of the man's greatest wounds.

 _Fine then._

His skin lit up again, and he could hear gasps of surprise from all around. Some of the twinkling golden stars beneath his skin blinked out and light flowed from his hands to the wound. The light traveled all across the man's body, even as Nato's hands stayed still. After a minute or two, and with a quarter of the twinkling stars gone, the glow faded and Nato's skin dimmed immensely.

One of the guards inspected the now peacefully sleeping man and confirmed to the master that all of his wounds were completely healed. There was silence as the guards looked at the boy with barely concealed awe and greed, and the master with a similar but more closed expression.

"Give him ten lashes." The guards dragged Nato away as the boy protested and struggled, chains clanking all the way.

* * *

It took them a week to reach Suna. Immediately after arriving, the adults left to request an audience with the Wind King. The rest of the group set up camp outside of the city walls, always wary of the possibility of various dangerous desert creatures, such as snakes and scorpions. After they were done, there was silence in the camp. Ever since they lost the greater half of their tribe, the adolescents spent most of their time mourning quietly. This wasn't any different with Hinata.

She couldn't stop thinking about the smoldering ruins of the Yaunkur camp, her missing family, and the charred corpses of the Elders. She missed them all so much; Jal-sensei, Dimos-oji, Kahina-oba, little Nila and Roni…and Nato, her best friend and the one she loved more than anything.

 _Where are you?_

She knew that wherever they were, her family was hurting. Her eyes squeezed shut from the grief and pain.

Hinata's head turned sharply when a hand placed itself on her shoulder. She saw seafoam-green eyes lined with dark circles, red hair, and a stoic yet concerned expression. "Are you alright?"

The girl stared at him in shock and disbelief. She knew who this was from her young noble years. It was the Second Wind Prince, Gaara. She stood quickly and curtsied. What was he doing out there? Apparently the prince also recognized her, or at least her eyes. His brow furrowed.

"Would you happen to be Hinata Hyuuga, the runaway heiress of the Hyuuga clan?"

"I would be the lady you speak of, your highness, though surely you know my younger sister, Hanabi Hyuuga, is now the heiress." Hinata easily slipped back into the formal speech of the high noble courts, and despite being a young girl with no recent practice, it sounded as if a noble, full grown lady were speaking instead of a child nomad. Though the girl was more pleased about her lack of a stutter. She was too focused on her pain to be concerned about the fact she was speaking to a prince.

The royal nodded. "So this is where you have been all these years. Your father called off all searches for you only a few days after you left. He claimed that if you thought you would be happier away from the Hyuuga clan, then he would support your decision. It still seems quite suspicious to me though. Why would a noble child, an heiress no less, leave to be with a poor nomadic orphan boy, an orphan boy who just so happened to also be the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki?" The red haired prince raised an eyebrow and hardened his eyes.

Hinata's bowed head shot up at the unspoken accusation and she stared at the boy her age with tearful, angered eyes. "I would never betray _Nato_ to my father, the father who abandoned and ignored me. Who _despised_ me." Her voice was calm and controlled, but the slight tremor betrayed her true feelings. "When I was with _Nato_ , for the first time since I was very, _very_ little, I felt _loved, appreciated,_ and so, _so happy! Nato_ is my best friend, the person I trust more than anyone and anything else. How dare you accuse me of such a horrendous thing!" Her voice broke, and the Wind Prince stared at her with blank eyes. Hinata's voice dropped to a whisper.

 _"I miss him so much!"_

The prince stared at her, seemingly peering into her soul, testing her words to be either truth or lie. Hinata gathered all of her dignity and stood firm in front of him, staring right back. Finally, the young prince's lips lifted into a small smile.

"Please forgive me, dear friend. Any friend of Nato is a friend of mine." He bowed to her.

Hinata wiped away a few unnoticed tears. "All is forgiven." She never was able to hold a grudge, and she understood why the prince had done it. He rose, at sat down on the bare sand by the fire. Hinata followed him, and sat beside Sura and Inwoe, the former wrapping a comforting arm around her.

Now Hinata had a chance to look around. It seemed as though their little talk attracted quite a crowd. She was afraid for a moment to look in their eyes, fearing disappointment and distrust. Rather, all she saw was sympathy and pride. She also saw some Suna shinobi, apparently having come with their prince as protocol insisted. They looked rather lost.

Prince Gaara began to speak again. "Like you, I was also drawn in by Nato's light and warmth. He was my first friend, and in that month with him, I learned so much." He looked directly into Hinata's lavender eyes. "It is time I repay that debt." He stood. "I promise that I will do all I can to convince my father to help in your search and give you aid. We will find Nato and all of the other Yaunkur." He walked to the wall with his guards, and gathering his hands together, formed a platform of sand, raising him and his shinobi guards over the high walls.

Later, when Hinata rested her head on her pillow, she wondered if what Gaara spoke did hold truth. Did her father really not come after her because he had some plan? Like a plan to get her close to Nato? Close to Crown Prince Naruto?

The aching feeling in her heart told her Truth.

* * *

Far, far away, a young boy with brilliant red-gold hair spun and leapt on a cold marble floor. It was much harder than usual, considering the fact the boy's ankles, wrists, and neck were chained. As he danced, Nato caught brief glimpses of the audience he was performing for. Most were heavy intoxicated from all the alcohol, laughing and jeering. He heard the master boasting quite a few times about how he had the wisdom and wealth to buy this talented slave who now entertained them. Though the master never mentioned where the boy came from. It seemed he was sober enough to hold that information back.

Eventually, the master clapped his hands once, and called for an end. Nato halted immediately, bowed to the master's guests, and backed into one of the corridors where a guard was waiting. He was careful to make sure no glow came from his skin. The man attached a length of heavy chain to the collar around Nato's neck and led him away, out of the main building. He was led into a building directly left of the mansion, with barred windows and a low ceiling and two guards standing outside. When they entered through the left entrance, Nato noticed the lines of beds against the wall and the straw mats on the floor.

It was the slave quarters.

As they walked to the far right corner of the room, they passed by many men who were already sleeping. The guard attached the end of his chain to a loop on the wall, and pushed Nato down onto the mat beneath it. It seemed as though he was not trusted enough to get a bunk, and from what he could see, Nato was the only one who was chained to the wall. All the other men and boys had the chains around their ankles, wrists, and necks, but they were free to move as they pleased in the slave quarters. He actually felt kind of proud he managed to gain such respect and acknowledgement of his skills from the guards, even though he knew he shouldn't. It would only make it harder for him to escape.

Nato laid back on the mat, ignoring the pain from the fresh wounds on his back. He smiled grimly whenhe remembered the reactions of the men who removed his shirt for the whipping. Naturally, his wounds from the slave market were only faint white lines by now, something that shocked his punishers.

The boy closed his eyes and ignored the pain in his stomach, and the thirst in this throat. It was painful (and probably not all that helpful), but he would continue to resist his new "master", and fight as hard as he could to defy him. That was a promise.

* * *

After a month of hard negotiations in Suna, the Yaunkur there were finally ready to begin their search. Within two days after Gaara came to talk with them, he managed to convince his father that it would be in their best interest to help the Yaunkur. He also got them in contact with the other Great Nations, letting them ask for their help in the search.

Hinata fully remembered the worried looks on King Minato and Queen Kushina's faces as they discreetly peered through the chakra powered machine, searching for their son. But Nato wasn't there. Without much persuasion at all, they agreed (very eagerly) to send out some teams of shinobi to gather information about what could have happened to the missing Yaunkur.

Water, Earth, Lightning, and Wind all informed their shinobi of the situation, and now gave a side mission to all outgoing teams; while out on their missions, they were to keep an eye out for anyone bearing the Yaunkur mark, or anyone with information on them. Everyone was glad that they managed to persuade the Great Nations to help. It was at times like these when the Yaunkur were grateful they had good ties with all of the powerful nations, including smaller ones like Whirlpool, who had also received the news and sent out the mission.

Now, they only had to get going themselves, and help search for their lost family, their home. All the while, they looked for a sign to tell them where they could possibly be.

* * *

In the first month he had spent as a slave, Nato already attempted several escapes. Unfortunately, none worked. He managed to make it to the front gates of the mansion many times, or to the top of the walls, but an invisible force always seemed to keep him in, originating from the chains. Not only did they keep him in, but because of the noise they made and their weight, the chains also prevented him from getting too far. The chakra seal on his back and the band on his mark didn't help things either. After many failed attempts, Nato had decided it was better worth his time playing at least sort of compliant (he couldn't do it fully, as it just wasn't in him to not resist), and wait for the right time to strike, not making any attempts in actually escaping. Not until he received a sign.

And it was around that same time that Nato found out one of the other reasons the master bought him. Not only was he to be a healer and entertainment, but a research project too. For weeks, the boy had been wondering why there were so many wounded always in the hospital. Now, he knew.

The master was building an army. Why? Honestly, Nato didn't really want to know. All he knew was that it was for this reason the master created and tested new weapons, often getting his soldiers hurt in practice from explosions and flying debris. But the master had many soldiers, though from where he got them, a simple slave such as Nato had no idea.

So on that day, when he awoke to find himself strapped to a metal table with a blinding light above him, he was understandably confused. Hadn't he fallen asleep on his mat the previous night? What was he doing there? Then his fellow doctors entered his vision, along with a few new faces–and needles. Nato had never been a fan of the of the slim, metallic things, at least the ones used for injections.

The boy's frightened eyes flitted around the dark chamber, taking in all the people, the technology, the test tubes, the master behind a window of glass, and finally, his friend, Karin, who was handing the doctors tools as they asked for them. She looked concerned and scared, not only for herself but for him too. Since he first met her in the hospital as a fellow practitioner of the medical arts, she had never really been scared. She was obedient–usually–and short-tempered. Like him, she also possessed a special way of healing, by having someone bite down on her skin. Apparently she had a lot of chakra or something stored beneath her skin she could use to heal. Unfortunately, it left permanent scars.

Nato loved her red hair. He often found himself wishing he had hair like hers.

When they first met, they didn't get along very well, and Karin detached herself from the rest of the world. However, they got to know each other better and respect the other's skills. Now, in just a month, Karin often acted like his protective older sister, and he the cheerful, mischievous younger brother. It was something Nato enjoyed, never really having played that role before. He was always the elder one.

So why was Karin there, aiding the master in hurting him? Instantly, Nato felt ashamed of the thought. It was likely that she had no desire to be there, but had to be because the master ordered it. He wouldn't hold it against Karin. However, Nato had little time to think on these matters, as one needle entered the flesh of his arm and withdrew blood. The doctors seemed to measure and take data from the sample, before sealing it in a test tube and putting it off to the side.

The medical professionals and what Nato now deduced to be scientists of some sort came back to face him and began to slice into the same flesh they took the sample from. Nato bit his lips against the pain, and already (since it wasn't a deep cut at all) the wound began to heal before their very eyes. Nato couldn't help but feel a bit smug at their expressions.

 _Yup. I'm just that great._

They took another blood sample, and then injected something in his other arm. It wasn't long before sleep overcame Nato.

An unknown period of time later, the young boy awoke on his mat with bandages littering his body, where much deeper, precise cuts laid. He laid back down, feeling sick with foreboding, and began to keep an eye out for the right time.

* * *

And so both groups, enslaved and free, waited for a sign.


	23. The Gathering

**Sorry for the delayed update everyone! The next chapter will be the last one, and there were be an epilogue after that. Then this first book will be finished! So thank you all for reading this story!**

 **Great and AlphaMike369: I actually didn't think of that…but it does make more sense than what I had in mind. I might use a variant of this idea… Thank you!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **EDIT (3/25/17): Added in Yuudai.**

 **EDIT (1/1/18): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes!**

* * *

 **More Than A Year Later**

Nato was carefully splinting a woman's broken arm when it happened. The drums, for the first time in over a year, sounded. They hummed in his head, resonated in his bones, and caused his blood to sing. And Nato knew he had received it.

It was time to go home.

* * *

Minato and Kushina scoured over reports, both old and new, on the Yaunkur search mission. Over the year, many had been found and recovered, returned to the rest of their tribe. From personally speaking with some of them and through the reports, the fate of the missing Yaunkur had been learned. They were sold into slavery, and scattered across the continent.

Including one of their precious babies, Naruto.

Kushina's shoulders sagged after reading a three-month-old report from Suna. They did this whenever a new report came in, and yet they still couldn't find any clues to would point them in the correct direction, so they could find _all_ of the Yaunkur, not just a few of them, and her baby too. She rested her head in her hands, leaning on the desk. What were they missing?

Minato noticed her distress. Like her, he had gotten little rest that year, spending all of his time worrying about his people and precious Naruto, searching for any possible thing that could help. "Kushina, sweetie, are you alright?"

An exhausted sigh escaped her lips. "I'm just wondering where he could possibly be. What are we forgetting?" Minato wrapped an arm around his wife, and Kushina leaned into his touch.

"I don't know. Maybe if we-"

A knock sounded on the door to the private study. Without waiting for a response, it opened, and three little girls entered the room. Masai was in the lead, her arms full with baby Aina, who was sniffling and on the verge of bursting into tears. Behind her was seven-year-old Nami, the cheerful smile on her face tainted with a hint of worry, as everyone's were nowadays.

As soon as the girls stepped into the room, the two-year-old Aina stretched her arms out to her mother, calling, "mama!"

Kushina scooped the little girl into her arms and soothed her. "It's alright, baby, mama's here."

Minato stroked his youngest child's pale blond hair and addressed his other daughters. "Girls, what happened?"

It was Nami who answered. "We were outside on the hill and a squirrel ran down the tree. It sat right next to Ai-chan and she freaked out. She wanted you, mama, refused anyone else." The two parents shared a concerned glance. Ever since she joined the family, it was clear that Aina was a very timid girl. She was unlike Masai at that age, who was possibly the most curious child Kushina would ever know, or Nami, who grabbed everything. Not even Yuudai had been like this. Where had it come from?

Kushina sighed again. Her eldest daughter then began to speak. "Mom, dad, were you looking over the reports again?"

"Yes, but it doesn't seem to be helping any," Minato replied.

"Have you thought about what sort of people would what a Yaunkur slave? They're traders, craftsmen, and performers. They keep sheep and weave beautiful, sturdy cloth from their wool. They create the only talismans and charms that actually work, and they dance, sing, and play many different instruments. Also, as we learned from the festival those years ago, the Yaunkur possess a special magic only they know how to use. So, based on this information, who would want a Yaunkur?"

Her parents stared at Masai. They always knew she was smart and practical, but not to this extent! And how did they not see that fact before, or anyone else? It had been over a year!

"Thank you, Masai-chan. I can't believe we forgot about that." Minato chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

A small smile quirked on the girl's lips. "You're welcome, mom, dad." She reached out and took Aina, who had calmed down, from their mother. "We'll leave you to your work now." The other two girls gave similar farewells, and the three Fire Princesses left the room.

The two rulers sat back down in their chairs and thought about what their eldest daughter said. Barely any time passed at all before another knock sounded.

"Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Daisuke, Minato's personal assistant when it came to Hokage work. He bowed. "Your Majesties, a new report from Hatake's latest mission." He handed the file over to Minato. He bowed again and left the room.

Minato quickly read over the report with Kushina. In it, Kakashi reported a suspicious household in the Land of Grass, called, 'Drongur', who, according to many of the surrounding towns, were well known slave owners, however, no one knew what actually went on inside the household complex.

"Kushina, some Yaunkur could be there."

"Jiraiya is supposed to be in the Land of Grass soon, isn't he?" Minato nodded. "Then let's send him over to check it out, and rescue any Yaunkur who may be there."

Minato brought out a slip of paper from a drawer and wrote a message to Jiraiya on it. He accepted the little tube offered to him by Kushina and rolled the paper up inside of it. He stood up and bit his finger, flashing through a sequence of hand signs, and slammed his hand onto the ground.

" _Kuchiyose no jutsu."_ In a puff of smoke, a hand sized toad appeared. Handing the tube to the toad, the Fire King said, "send this to Jiraiya for me." The toad nodded and disappeared in another puff.

The Fire King and Queen sat back down to their work, and thought about their lost child.

When they got Naruto back, they would do everything in their power to protect and aid in healing him from whatever wounds he carried. They were his parents after all.

Even if their baby was a complete stranger and they, the parents, even more so.

* * *

Jiraiya whistled appreciatively at the tall and imposing gates laid before him. "So this is the place." He approached the gates and looked closely at the thick, wooden doors. "No wonder no one's escaped, or even heard of this place!" He said to himself. They looked to be just ordinate designs for a rich man's home, but Jiraiya was a shinobi, and a Seal Master at that. The stone walls and wooden gates were covered with complex seals made to keep anyone bearing the opposing seal from passing the walls surrounding the mansion complex, and more to keep people outside from looking in.

Why would these seals be here unless the occupants of the manor had something to hide… or something they wanted to keep in? From his "information gathering" and his student's message, he had a pretty good guess as to what. This noble family possessed slaves, which wasn't against the law in the Land of Grass, but every nation knew the Great Nations were searching for the Yaunkur. Any who owned one as a slave hid them well.

And that was why Jiraiya was there; to free any Yaunkur who happened to be enslaved in these walls, and he had a feeling there was one here.

"Hey! You there!" Ah, it seemed as though the guards finally noticed him. Jiraiya looked away from the seals and to the eyes revealed through an opened hatch in the left side of the gate. "State your business."

Jiraiya responded with a large grin. "Hello! I received an invitation to the party here this evening. Any chance you can let me through?"

"I need a name, sir."

"What! You don't know my name!?"

"No."

"I am Hideo Hiroshi, the greatest novelist that ever has and will live! I wrote some of the most enrapturing children stories and the steamiest romance novel of this century! I will go down in history as Hideo, the Novelist!" The guard didn't pay attention to his dramatic little speech, instead looking away, probably at a guest list. Jiraiya felt kind of insulted. He spent a good hour creating his character, and he even added hand motions and everything! Sure, Hideo was quite close to Jiraiya himself, but he often found that playing a familiar role was easier and much more convincing.

"I see. You're one of the young Lady Drongur's guests. Please hand me your invitation." Jiraiya slipped the piece of paper through the hatch. A hand snatched it up. A few moments passed and then the big gates began to open. "The party will be starting soon. A slave will show you to the room."

Boy was Jiraiya glad he managed charm that girl the previous night with his fake good looks.

* * *

Jiraiya still found it strange that the guards didn't question his mode of transport. After all, he didn't have a carriage, a cart, or even servants! Looking at the other guests with their servants (or slaves, if he had to guess) there just to wipe their mouths, Jiraiya felt thoroughly disgusted.

Overall, the party was interesting to say the least, and Jiraiya was able to meet some more pretty ladies, including the girl who invited him, the host's daughter. Even though he drank and laughed and acted as one of the partygoers, he kept a watchful eye on the slaves. However, it wasn't until the entertainment reached its peak that Jiraiya finally found his Yaunkur. The boy appeared to be around twelve years old, maybe younger since he was so small. It was his dark hair and eyes, coppery skin, and the armband that gave him away. Because they had already freed many Yaunkur, everyone searching for them knew they possessed such a band covering their marks. On his cheeks were three curious lines like whiskers, and somehow, Jiraiya felt he had seen this face before, on another person. He wore what he had seen on all of the male slaves; loose, long and light white pants, and no shirt. But what really caught this eye was a brand of some sort.

An eye with a slitted pupil rested at the base of the left side of his neck, just above the collarbone. A little hood seemed to rest over it, sort of like an eyelid, but not quite. Three curved lines stretched over the boy's collarbone from underneath the eye, two curving one way and the other rebelling, reminding Jiraiya of claws or fangs, maybe even tendrils of darkness reaching for the light. He hadn't seen anything of the sort on the other slaves in this household. Perhaps it was a punishment, as this boy certainly _looked_ rebellious.

The Yaunkur boy walked onto the stage, bowed, and then _moved_. The child twirled and leapt, twisting around the stage, turning it into a radiant piece of art rather than just cold marble and gloomy stone. The chains encircling the child as he danced was the only thing that brought Jiraiya back to the gloomy reality. Jiraiya hated the idea of slavery, of humans having ownership over other humans. And enslaving adults or criminals was one thing, children an entirely different matter. Children who hadn't even a chance to make big decisions for themselves. He hated it, and refused to let this child continue living this way. He needed to get this Yaunkur out, but how?

* * *

As soon as he exited the complex's gates and hid out of sight, Jiraiya stopped the steady stream of chakra he had been applying to the seal on his left arm. When he did so, the disguise of Hideo dropped and Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, reappeared. Then he cast a genjutsu around himself, vanishing completely. He stayed where he was until he was sure the household had gone to sleep. He snuck back to the walls and jumped up to stand atop them. He looked out over the gardens, prepared to leap back into the mansion's grounds.

However, before he did, he saw a small figure creeping through the gardens, skillfully avoiding patrolling guards. As the figure neared the ground underneath Jiraiya's perch, the older man got a good look at him. Of course, because Jiraiya's luck seemed to be great this week, it was the Yaunkur boy. The Toad Sage knew he couldn't let such an opportunity pass, so he jumped into the garden, quieter than a gentle summer's breeze. Then he grabbed the small boy, casting another genjutsu around the both of them.

To his credit, the boy instantly began to kick and punch and bite and yell, landing quite a few good shots on the Sannin. Jiraiya was glad he cast the genjutsu as he tried to pin the child down. "Take it easy, Kid! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm trying–uff!–to get you out of here!" The boy paid no heed to his words. After a bit more tumbling around, Jiraiya finally managed to stop the boy from moving, and he flashed his Konoha shinobi headband at the Yaunkur. "I was sent to save you by their Majesties, the Fire King and Queen!" Just as quickly as he began, the boy stopped struggling and scowled.

"Why didn't ya say so earlier! Lemme up, I won't fight you anymore." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "not unless you give me good reason to, ya know."

Jiraiya got up, and so did the boy. They stood awkwardly for a moment, and then the boy held out his wrists with the chains still attached. "Well, are you going to get rid of them? I bet ya know I can't get past this wall with them on." The boy peered up at him suspiciously. "Or are you really a _strong_ Konoha Shinobi?"

Jiraiya felt his eyebrow twitch. This boy really did remind him of someone. "Of course I am, brat!" He struck a dramatic pose. "You're looking at Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount M-" The kid cleared his throat. He did not look impressed. For some reason, the stoic yet slightly pissed off expression was incredibly familiar. He had the sudden urge to run away and hide. Resisting it, Jiraiya sighed, getting the feeling that if he didn't get on with it, then something really bad would happen. "Fine."

Using the skills any good shinobi should possess, Jiraiya picked the tiny locks (which were surprisingly complicated) on the chains, removing them all one by one. They fell to the ground, and the boy simply stared at his freed hands and ankles, and the scarred, torn skin. He waved them around for a moment in disbelief, as if he found it strange to no longer hear the clanking and feel the familiar yet unwelcome weight.

The boy looked back up at Jiraiya, and the man was taken aback at the amount of gratitude in the child's eyes. "Thanks, Pervy Sage." Said man's eyebrow twitched again. _"Dirjat tei hus scaut."_ This time both of the Sannin's eyebrows shot up at the sudden switch into Kaeyugen, the Yaunkur's language. He personally didn't speak it (he didn't know of anyone outside of the tribe who could), but he caught the gist of it.

"Anytime, kid. Sorry about leaving the band on, but we need to get out of here first. We can take care of that later." The boy nodded. At Jiraiya's prompting, the kid climbed onto his back (with a surprising lack or resistance), and they shot over the wall.

Nothing kept them back.

Jiraiya ran to the surrounding forest and hopped into the branches. He sped from one branch to the next, gaining as much distance as he could from the Drongur Estate. The household certainly wouldn't be happy when they found one of their slaves missing, the expensive Yaunkur one at that.

Eventually, he reached a distance far enough away so the two of them could rest for a bit. As he set the kid down (who hadn't fallen asleep at all, seeming to rather enjoy his first taste of freedom in over a year), Jiraiya finally remembered. "Hey, Kid, I never got your name."

There was hardly a pause. The boy stuck out this thumb and pointed it towards himself, grinning. "I'm Nato of the Yaunkur tribe, ya know! Don't forget it!"

Okay, now it was really bugging him. Why did this kid seem so familiar?!

* * *

It only took a few days for the two to reach the Yaunkur's current campsite, just within the borders of the Fire Country. They would have gotten there sooner, but Jiraiya knew his little ward was not in the best shape. In those few days, he got the band off of the kid's arm (Nato spent sometime after that simply flying around), some new cloths, and learned the story behind the mysterious brand that ran along the Kid's collarbone.

Some months ago Nato and a girl named Karin made another escape attempt, but rather than trying to scale the walls, they stole away on a cart exiting through the gates. The two managed to quietly sneak back off the cart after it had gone some distance from the estate and hid in the forest. However, it hadn't been long before the hunting dogs tracked them down and the children were brought back to the Drongur mansion. As punishment for running away (and almost succeeding) along with all his previous attempts, Nato was branded more prominently with the family's crest. It hadn't been done to his friend as it had been her first attempt. Apparently it had been done to shame Nato, and reinforce the belief in the rebellious child that he belonged to the Drongurs and was not free.

Jiraiya was pleasantly surprised to note though that it didn't seem to bring the boy as much shame as it did pride. For the most part, he bore the brand as a symbol of all he had gone through in the past year, and all he had overcome. He bore it proudly to show that he hadn't simply submitted to their wills, instead choosing to fight against those who once owned him with all his might, mind, and strength. This didn't, however, mean he wasn't in the slightest bit ashamed of it. While Nato didn't actively try to hide it, he was reluctant to speak openly about it, which was perfectly understandable in Jiraiya's eyes.

When he asked the kid about his friend, Karin, he was met with a short response. She had disappeared only a few weeks ago, and Nato hadn't seen her since. Jiraiya supposed that the girl was either dead or had been sold.

The Toad Sage found himself strangely fond and extremely proud of this child whom he had known for only a few days. So naturally, while he was glad the kid was finally able to return to his tribe, he wasn't eager to say goodbye. Over their time together he also got the sense that Nato had a great deal of chakra and some amount of training in the shinobi arts, great potential and an incredible amount of gutsiness (which was definitely his favorite part). Also, though the Sannin wasn't inclined to acknowledge it, the kid brought some life into his lonely wandering. Jiraiya would have liked to have taken Nato has an apprentice, if it wasn't for the fact that this child had a life of his own to get back to.

So, Jiraiya took him home.

As the two entered the campsite, Jiraiya noticed the excited yet teary expression on Yaunkur boy's face, taking in all he had lost, and now regained. They barely stepped into the camp when people suddenly came streaming out of the tents, rushing towards the pair as if they sensed their presence. A voice sounded out above everything.

"Nato!" The Toad Sage noted all that simple name had to offer for the one who spoke it. It was filled with joy, longing, sadness, and love. Nato perked up instantly.

"Hina?" The boy looked around the crowd, his gaze scouring it for the owner of that voice. The people then parted like the land during a quake, and a girl Nato's age ran to the boy, throwing her arms around him, sobbing with joy. Nato's arms encircled the girl in return. "Hina…" he spoke in relief, and as Jiraiya noted as a love expert, with love. He almost cackled with glee.

 _Does little Nato have a girlfriend?_

When the girl's eyes opened again, tears still streaming from them, Jiraiya was taken aback. He would recognize those eyes anywhere. So, little Nato wasn't just dating a lovely girl, he was with the runaway Hyuuga Heiress, was he now? Jiraiya would totally be teasing the kid about that later, even if they weren't dating, which he couldn't really believe. Those two certainly shared a special bond of some sort and a love he rarely saw outside of particular married couples.

 _Oh, this is going to be fun!_

Jiraiya was pulled from his devious thoughts when the young lady began a whispered conversation with his ward. _"Owace kore, Nato!"_

 _"Sem kore!"_ They were speaking in Kae again, so the Toad Sage had no idea to what they were actually saying, but he could guess.

 _"Sei weyus tei, Hina."_

 _"Daia sei weyus tei."_ At this moment, the girl stepped back and spoke louder, glancing for a moment at the crowd watching this reunion. _"Mei nav weyus tei hus scaut!"_

Apparently, from whatever had been said, the rest of the Yaunkur took that as a sign that the private reunion between the two was over, and they all rushed Nato. Jiraiya stepped back some more so he wasn't in the middle of things. At one point, two children who he would guess to be twins ran up to Nato. The boy instantly turned to them bending down a bit to look them in the eyes. A serious, concerned, and relieved expression crossed his face.

 _"Tem mus oeto?"_

The children nodded and smiled. _"Ro, Niichan."_ Jiraiya started a bit at the familiar Nem word thrown in with the Kae. Were these two really Nato's younger siblings?

Nato pulled the two close to him and held onto them tightly. _"Sem sazi."_ More children came up to the older boy and it seemed as though they all began to tell a story to Nato, taking turns. Jiraiya barely kept the smile off his face. A petite woman broke off from the group and made her way over to him. The Toad Sage recognized her from several meetings over the past year and some conversations too. It was Charo, one of those who had lead the Yaunkur in this troubling time for the nomads. She came to stand right next to him, and together they watched the children continue their story.

"Thank you for bringing Nato back to us, Jiraiya-sama."

"My fine lady, how many times must I tell you? I'm Jiraiya to you, or perhaps 'Love', if you so wish."

Charo rolled her eyes. "Well, _Jiraiya-sama_ –" he pouted, "–I just wanted to thank you personally for all you have done for our tribe."

The mood sobered quickly. "He really is a good kid. All of you should be proud of him."

"We are." There was a comfortable silence between the two of them. Then, a shout pulled their attention back to Nato.

 _"Nanawah?!"_ The boy pouted. _"Mawei sei terah sneptus no."_ Nato began ruffling the heads of all the proudly smiling children near him. _"Sem hes easse ka sam baccho baccho!"_

Jiraiya's eyebrow's shot up. "What was that about?"

An exasperated sigh came from Charo. "Just Nato being caught up on the doings of his little prankster students."

Now Jiraiya had to smile.

* * *

It was the next day that the group packed up camp, and left for the road again. They headed for Konoha, and Jiraiya decided to tag along, as he too was headed there to give a report to Minato. Also, he wanted to make sure the Yaunkur arrived there safely, with all that had already happened to them.

He wasn't prepared.

It was during their lunch break that it happened. Everyone was eating and conversing with one another (and Jiraiya was having fun teasing a certain pair of preteens). Jiraiya received no warning. The cloud of darkness swept in suddenly, surrounding the nomads completely. Jiraiya couldn't see anything. The emptiness he saw wasn't like that behind closed eyelids. This…this was absolute Nothingness. Then, as quickly as it came, the darkness was gone.

And so were the Yaunkur.

* * *

 **Some Translations:**

 _ **Dirjat tei hus scaut.**_ **= Thank you so much!**

 _ **Owace kore, Nato!**_ **= Welcome home, Nato!**

 _ **Sem kore!**_ **= I'm home!**

 _ **Sei weyus tei.**_ **= I missed you.**

 _ **Daia sei weyus tei.**_ **= I missed you too.**

 _ **Mei nav weyus tei hus scaut!**_ **= We all missed you so much!**

 _ **Tem mus oeto?**_ **= Are you both okay?**

 _ **Ro, Niichan.**_ **= Yes, Niichan.**

 _ **Sem sazi.**_ **= I'm glad.**

 _ **Nanawah?! Mawei sei terah sneptus no. Sem hes easse ka sam baccho baccho!**_ **= What?! I wish I could have seen it. I'm so proud of my students!**


	24. An Era's End

**Here's the last chapter, and I just want to say sorry in advance. It was necessary for the plot to continue.**

 **So, warning: there will be lots of death in this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own the plot and my own original characters.**

* * *

Nato ripped off a piece of his _rastik_ and soaked it in the sauce colored green by the spiciest peppers. He savored the taste in his mouth, unwilling to let it fade. Nato had missed this food. For the past year all he had gotten was a hunk of bread, some water, and a slice or two of apple or some other fruit (if he was lucky) twice a day. Being back with his tribe and on the road again and–oh, the food!–was like soaring in the heavens with no restraint.

He had missed being free.

Behind him sat Hinata. She was already finished eating (not having quite the starved appetite Nato possessed) and was now messing with her friend's golden hair. She hadn't been very happy the previous day when she saw that his hair was much shorter. Unlike the long shoulder length hair she loved from before…before that day, now the tips of it only went to the bottom of his ears. It was a mess of spikes. The boy could tell Hinata wanted to braid his hair, but couldn't because it was so short. However, this was Hinata. She did the impossible and made tons of teeny-tiny braids in his hair.

 _Because she's awesome like that._

Also in their little circle were Inwoe and Sura. Ever since last night they had been fretting over him in their own ways; Sura insisted he wasn't eating enough (Nato whole-heartily agreed) and forcing more food on him, and Inwoe hovered over his shoulder, punching him every once in a while (although much softer than Nato was used to).

The twins, Nila and Roni, stayed near their older cousin. Nato learned that they had been sold to a horrible lady, but then freed only days after by a kind old man and his wife. The two children lived with the old couple for a few months until the Yaunkur came by to retrieve them. From what he heard, it was a sad parting as the couple had wished for children of their own for many years, and Nato's little cousins filled the position.

Anyway, Nato was happily eating away, nodding occasionally to whatever Inwoe and Sura were saying, when Jiraiya had to ruin it.

"So, when's the wedding, kids?"

Nato bent forward, practically hacking his lungs out, and Hinata turned bright red before burrowing her face in her arms. When the coughs subsided some, Nato glared at the grinning Toad Sage. "Why the he–" A pressing darkness surrounded Nato.

He couldn't see.

He couldn't speak.

He couldn't scream.

He couldn't breathe.

His heartrate quickened as he panicked. Nato's breath came in short gasps. Suddenly, he wasn't in the clearing anymore. He was trapped in that cell again, chains wrapped around him, skin torn and life blood seeping out, coloring the chains, walls, floor, and imposing door red. His screams shredded the deserted silence. It was so dark. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. _He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, he–_

"Nato!"

– _could breathe._

His eye's shot open, staring at the worried and tearful gaze of his best friend. Nato continued to look at her, confused. Why was he lying on the ground? He sat up, and then noticed that he couldn't move his hands; they were tied behind him with rope, tight enough to cut off his blood circulation. As he looked around, he saw that everyone was in a similar position, and that they were in some dark place, a cave probably, and that there were more Yaunkur than there had been a few moments ago. Sitting just a few feet away from him were Dimos and Kahina, who had both still been missing, last he checked. Nato's breath caught in his throat.

"Are you alright, Nato?" asked his auntie, whose kind voice he had missed so.

"You were hyperventilating, son." His uncle's smile lines were drawn in worry. The young boy felt tears come to his eyes at the sight of the ones who raised him.

He threw himself at them, leaning against them, and cursing the rope binding his hands for preventing him from hugging his family and they from embracing him.

Others joined in the huddle; Nila, Roni, and Hinata. Nato took a shuddering breath. They were all together again, _finally_ , and a moment of bliss was shared. But of course, like most things, it came to an end, shattered to pieces by an overwhelming presence. It was very familiar to Nato, but at the same time, horribly strange and foreign. It was a presence Nato recalled from memories of a life before, when he dwelled everywhere and nowhere at once. A presence first felt possessing a man.

It was Akes' other side, Nuon. Every Spirit had their rarely shown not-so-nice self, or their Sinae. For the Sun Spirit, in Nem his other side was called Scorching Sun, which in Kae was Oryiu. The Moon Spirit had Blood Moon, or Jaahed. Akes' two sides were Shade (Akes) and Nothing (Nuon). From the few memories Nato had seen, Nuon was definitely the Sinae most feared by the humans.

And Nuon, this awful, paralyzing presence, entered the vast chamber.

* * *

They had a job to do. They had to do it. There was no option. It didn't matter that they were preparing to kill an entire tribe of peaceful nomads; men, women, teenagers, children, babies–all of them. She committed herself to the task and Lord Nuon; there was no going back.

 _No way out._

Months ago, when she first heard the tempting, sweet voice whispering promises of a better life in her mind, she searched everywhere for the source, ignoring her fellow missing-nins' comments about her being insane. However, it did not take long. _They_ found her first. A group of the vilest, most traumatized people from all over the continent and from all walks of life. They called themselves the Nuokur, People of the Nothing. Of course, they didn't seem that way at first. They were a friendly and determined bunch, preparing the way for a new order in the universe. But when the Leader appeared, they changed. A dark trance would fall over them, and only once the Leader left again did they come to themselves. The more it happened, the more she felt herself slipping further and further down.

But she didn't leave, no one did. Once she joined, there was no way back for her. No path besides the dark one she chose. Though she wanted to so bad. She wanted no part in what was to come in only a few minutes' time. She sat at the entrance of the cave with her fellow Nuokur, and from their tired yet panicked expressions, she knew they weren't particularly looking forward to the task either. She quietly stood up and tried to turn away, to run into the forest and never look back, but she couldn't. She was frozen in place as chilling tendrils of a pitch black Nothing seeped into her mind, causing it to go blank. What was she doing again?

A cold voice merged with the Nothing, asking, "where are you going? You have a job to do."

She turned around to look into the pale, middle-aged face of the Leader. She has a job to do. "Yes, my Lord." Her twenty-six companions came to their feet, all of their faces blank, and followed the Leader into the cave.

* * *

As they neared the chamber the Yaunkur were being held in, the Leader gave instructions. "Separate them into two groups. Adults on one side and children on the other. You can all judge on who's an adult and who's not. Then kill the adults all at once. If you don't, then they might find some way to fight back. Then you can kill the children."

In one voice, the Nuokur present spoke, "yes, Lord Nuon." She could see the reasoning behind the Leader's command. They were weak servants and didn't have the power to eliminate the group all at once. It had to be done in at least two separate groups. If no grown Yaunkurs survived this day, their knowledge would never be passed down to the children, so even if some children managed to escape with their lives, the knowledge they would pass down would be incomplete. Many years from now, depending on whether or not any young survived, the tribe might still be there, but they would not be Yaunkur.

But no one in the Yaunkur tribe would live past this day. For a brief moment, she felt a tremor of regret, before a tendril of Nothing plucked it out. The next step in the Leader's glorious plan would finally be completed.

She had no regrets.

* * *

They worked carefully to separate the adults from the children. They of the Nuokur dragged the adults to the other side of the enormous cavern, ignoring the cries of the Yaunkur young as their parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and siblings were taken from them. A few tried fighting back, like the children of the Yaunkur heads, but their small rebellions were snuffed out. While doing her work, she was even forced to tear a baby from its mother's arms, leaving it wailing on the cold floor.

Soon enough, the first step was done, the Leader's ever-watchful eye on them from his position on the tall rock towards the entrance of the cavern. They stood behind the adults, the group closest to the Leader, and called on the Nothing. It surged forward in a great wave of black, devouring the life in the elder half of the Yaunkur tribe. They screamed and cried and wailed in agony as their energy, their chakra, their magic, their _life_ was separated from them, pulled into the Nothing.

She realized that it wasn't only the adults in agony, but the children too. They wept for their family, and seemed to experience their pain for themselves. Again, that twinge of _something_ pulled at her.

She was doing as her lord commanded her, so why did she feel so… _sad_?

* * *

As the emptiness devoured his family, Nato felt like an erupting volcano and a barren field of ice at the same time. Liquid fire ran through his veins and ice froze his heart. His head pounded as a wave of dizziness washed over him. His sight swayed to and fro with like a tiny sailboat in a swirling storm infinitely greater than it.

 _No, this can't be true._

He could feel Kurama's rage and sorrow match his, with bared teeth. How dare these people _murder_ the ones who treated him and his jinchuuriki so well! He would _murder_ them! Their blood would stain this ground for eons! The two beings grew together in rage and hatred and sorrow and _power_.

 _No…no…NO!_

Nato went supernova.

* * *

Hinata threw herself over Roni and Nila, shielding them from the burst of malicious red chakra pouring from Nato. As soon as the first wave ceased and feral Nato began attacking their would-be murderers, she sprung up and ran towards the cave exit, pulling the twins behind her and dodging whatever attacks were launched their way.

Along the way Hinata stopped to lift other children to their feet and push them towards the exit as well. Before they left the cavern, she looked back to see the chaos in the cave and Nato at the center of it all, surrounded by Kurama's red chakra, claws of the ominous energy catching the murderers one by one. She turned back and exited the cavern.

Out in the daylight were six children who laid panting on the ground, many with various bleeding wounds, some more serious than others. Hinata gave herself a moment to rest, made sure the twins stayed put, and plunged back into the dark cavern alight with red chakra.

* * *

She dodged for as long as she could, occasionally finding a break to fire off a jutsu in the direction of the escaping children. However, she eventually made a fatal mistake, and the claw wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms to her side, squeezing the life out of her. She could feel the poisonous chakra spreading burns across her skin. She struggled, but she knew it would be impossible to get out on her own.

"Lord Nuon! Help me!" She turned her eyes towards the Leader, her leader. He was still standing impassively on the rock. "Lord Nuon?"

He didn't even glance at her before fading into the shadows.

"Lord Nuon…" she whispered in disbelief. He just abandoned them. Left his followers for dead. How could he?

The claw encircling her middle squeezed tighter, and tighter.

 _ **CRACK!**_

She gasped in agony and collapsed on the ground when the claw released her. As she laid dying, she looked at her fallen teammates and the...the _monster_ that had killed them.

And her.

She took a final shuddering gasp, and couldn't help but wonder why she joined the Nuokur in the first place.

* * *

There was no cease in the chaos. Hinata continued to herd children out of the cavern, supporting those who were unable to walk and at one point, held the hand of a six-year-old girl as she passed on. As she ran around she saw some other teens doing the same, including Emine.

All the while, Nato stood with his flaming claws and embracing chakra, crushing the ones who dared hurt their family. After an indescribable amount of time, it was finally over, and Hinata was there to catch Nato when he fell. She held him tightly, careful of the minor burns all over his body. They wept for all who were lost that day, and for their broken tribe.

The shadows thickened.

A dark, humanoid shape gathered silently behind the grieving pair. A spear formed in its hand. The hand drew back as Hinata glanced over Nato's shoulder, horror sliding over her face like a dark cloud. Just as the spear began to whistle through the air, Hinata threw herself and the exhausted boy to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. As the shape prepared another, Hinata stood at the ready.

There was no need.

Before the second spear was thrown, the walls of the cave seemed to grow hands of its own that lashed out at the shape, squeezing it as a guttural howl sounded from its lips. The shadows dispersed. From behind her, Hinata heard Nato whisper, "the Land…it's as if she just threw off chains of her own, ya know."

Hinata nodded, still shocked. The Land wasn't finished. The bodies of the Yaunkur who had died sunk into the stone floor, as if it were quicksand. For the ones who killed them, they were buried too, but in a chasm that opened under them instead. Soon, only Nato and Hinata were left in the cavern.

Or so she thought.

As she helped Nato stand up, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he spoke. "Hina, there's still someone in here." Trusting her friend, she activated her byakugan and looked around the room. Suddenly, a baby's wail was evident in her ears, and she could see the small figure hidden in the shadows of the cave. Hinata and Nato hobbled over to the babe, wondering how this little one was overlooked. The strength of its lungs were impossible to ignore.

Upon getting a closer look, Hinata recognized the one-year-old, if only by the blue-striped red cloth diaper she wore and her strange amber eyes. It was Yashima, the little girl who had been born barely a week before that fateful Ooyake. Her mother was a born Yaunkur who had left the tribe to settle down in Suna. If Hinata was correct, little Yashima's father had been a Suna shinobi who died on a mission when the girl was a few months old. And even though her mother left the tribe, she asked the Yaunkur to mark her arm the last time they passed through the city, as she knew the protection such a symbol could give her daughter.

Hinata, Nato still leaning on her, knelt down to pick the babe up. Yashima's little arms reached up to her. Then the pale-eyed girl noticed her leg. Yashima's leg was bloodied, and from her small amount of medical knowledge, Hinata knew it was shattered and horribly twisted. The leg would have to be amputated. She felt the raw ache in her soul expand. This little girl would never be able to walk.

She knew Nato could see this too. She felt his quiet sobs, and then her own filled her ears. But Nato wasn't going to give up just yet.

"Hina, let me try to heal her. I won't be able to do much, ya know, but at least I might be able to save the leg."

Hinata nodded, and moved his arm from around her shoulders, holding his hands just above the babe's shattered leg, knowing her friend didn't have much strength to do it himself. A look of intense concentration passed over his face, and the lights under his skin began to flow from him, through his hands, and onto the injury. Because of the events earlier, he only possessed a third of his normal amount, and by the time he was finished, half of that was gone.

Nato was panting heavily, and Hinata knew he was on the verge of passing out. She wrapped his arm back around her shoulders, and picked up little Yashima, who had fallen asleep under the comforting light. Her leg was still twisted and warped, but no longer bleeding. She wouldn't ever be able to run as other children could, but at least she would walk. They had Nato to thank for that small miracle.

However, now that Hinata finally had some time to think about it, where would Yashima go? She was an orphan now, just like the rest of them. Tears poured down her face. That was right. They were all alone now. Only a bunch of nomadic children against all the darkness that laid in the world.

The young girl dragged herself to her feet, and stumbled out of the cave. In the sunlight, she saw Emine, Sura, Inwoe, Nila, and Roni all waiting for them, along with all the others who had survived this day. Their faces were stricken with grief, and dirtied from the earlier events, but Hinata could see the determination shining through.

They would make it through this. They would be fine. They would take care of each other, and no one would be left behind. Sure, their family was much smaller than it had been that morning, and it was broken, but they all had each other.

They were all that were left of the Yaunkur after all.

* * *

 **Stay tuned for the epilogue!**


	25. Epilogue-Picking Up the Pieces, Together

**Hello! The note's at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **EDIT (3/26/17): Added in Yuudai.**

 **EDIT (1/1/18): Basic stuff, sentence fluency.**

 **EDIT (1/5/18): Name changes.**

* * *

They were back on the road again the morning after the day they decided to call Aduryeanne, Era's End. None of them were too eager to stay in that place. They spent the rest of the day healing and grieving, and the night was set aside for planning. All but the smallest of children were included in the council. There was no question of whether they were moving somewhere else or not, it was a given. Rather, they discussed the possible places they could first travel to, and then they could decide on further plans from there.

Three options were presented; Anusuli, Suna, or Konoha. According to their cycle, it was time for them to head back to the island, however, they all agreed that things were different, and no one was feeling any pressing urge from the Land to head back. Besides, just like this cave, there were too many memories. They could go to Suna, but from their current location (they deemed themselves to be somewhere in the Land of Waterfalls), it was much too far for a rest stop. So in the end, it was decided that they would journey to Konoha, since the Yaunkur were heading there anyway before it all happened. Also, the Fire King and the Fire Queen were probably worried out of their minds when the Yaunkur hadn't shown up earlier.

So the next morning the exhausted children got up, found something to eat for a quick breakfast, and they all set for the road again. There was no need to pack anything up except for some berries they collected, since none of their supplies seemed to have been transported with them. The children could only hope Jiraiya didn't leave everything behind.

And over that one night, Yashima became attached to Nato and Hinata. When she first woke up in the hands of strangers, she wailed, calling out for a familiar face. This caused several other young children to begin to cry. It took the efforts of everyone to calm them down, and by the time Hinata came by, there were many frustrated teens. Hinata calmed the little babe down and Nato made them laugh with just a look. Together they put the kids back to sleep, and in the morning Yashima refused to be held by anyone but the two older children.

Another problem that arose had to do with who was to lead the group. The youngest child they had was Yashima, the oldest was Emine, and there were thirty-five of them in all. They were all grieving, lost children with different skill sets, and a few of them who hadn't been with the Yaunkur since the previous Ooyake. At the moment, it was simply those who stepped up to the pallet and the older children who lead the group. There were little arguments, since no one was in the mood to oppose a reasonable idea.

The general consensus was something like this: "let's just get to Konoha. We can figure things out from there."

* * *

Nato was known for being a loudmouth, but ever since Aduryeanne, he hadn't spoken much at all. When he was asked a question his answer was short and clipped. When a conversation began, instead of being the one who contributed the most, he took an observing role.

Hinata knew it was because Nato lost so many of his precious people, and he was trying to find a way to deal with it and overcome his grief. But she was worried, especially when a cheerful, uplifting mask was put in place. So when Nato came to her on the third morning before anyone else was up with a rare hesitant expression on his face, she was relieved.

"Neh…Hina? Can I ask you something?" Hinata nodded. The boy opened his mouth and then halted. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts, and Hinata waited patiently for her friend to speak. "What…what do you think will happen to us now? We have no parents, no guardians, no path…we're all alone." There was something like a broken sob at the end.

Hinata chose her words carefully before responding. "Well, I guess we get to Konoha and figure it out from there. All we really can do is to just keep moving forward." She stepped closer to the boy, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "And you know, Nato, we aren't alone, because we are exactly that. You acknowledged it yourself by saying 'we' and not 'I'. We all still have each other. I know it's really dark right now, but we have each other."

Then, it was as if the dams finally broke and Nato just began sobbing uncontrollably. It wasn't long before Hinata joined in, and they sank into a wet mess of tears on the ground. When the two calmed down enough to speak again some minutes later, Nato whispered to her, "You'll never leave me, right Hina?"

Said girl squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, and opened them again, speaking a promise. "I won't Nato. You will never be alone… And you'll never leave me, right?"

The boy made a sound that sounded like a laugh and a sob at the same time. "Of course Hina, how could I ever?"

They sat there for a while after that.

* * *

Something terrible and catastrophic recently occurred. Kushina could feel it. The entire world was eerily still. There was no rushing wind or twittering birds or swaying trees or falling water. There was just…nothing, the opposite of something.

Kushina sat down on a cushioned window alcove in the private upper floors of the palace's East Wing. Unbidden, her thoughts turned towards her missing son and the day he was born.

 _She remembered how all the city, all the country, was decorated with orange, red, and yellow lanterns, turning the land into a starry sky by nightfall. All the people were in their homes, or their neighbor's homes, awaiting the news of a new prince, and praying for the safety of their monarchs and the little babe. They may have not exactly known the dangers of that starry night, but they did understand that this was a not a night to sleep. All that day, the servants and Kushina's closest friends, namely Mikoto and Hitomi (the former was holding her own newborn son, and the latter was expecting a daughter soon), kept a careful eye on their Queen, watching her every step, always there to support her when it looked as though Kushina was about to topple over. All that day Minato (that girly husband of hers) was hovering over his wife's shoulder, asking if she needed to sit down, or if he could get her anything, or if she and baby Naruto were doing alright._

 _And all that day, Kushina just wanted to punch someone. She was cranky and sore because of the baby banging on the insides of her womb like they were drums, she was hungry because she_ always _seemed to be so nowadays, and she just wanted this all to be over and to finally hold the baby she spent_ months _growing. She was ready to not-be-pregnant, and go on a mission or something, anything to get moving around freely again and where could punch some faces at the same time._

 _She wanted out._

 _The time couldn't have come any later. When the sun began to set, Kushina was taken to a private medical facility in a location some miles outside of the city. There, everyone except for Kushina and Minato waited patiently for Baby Naruto to arrive. In Kushina's opinion, he took his sweet time, making it even more difficult for her and Minato to keep the Kyuubi in. But he was born perfectly healthy and the Kyuubi was sealed up tight. Little Baby Naruto had been secure in her arms._

The Queen smiled sadly as she recalled a conversation only fifteen minutes after the birth.

 _"Kushina, sweetie, can I hold him now? You're hogging him."_

 _She turned away from her husband stubbornly, the tiny baby nestled in her arms. "No."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"He's my baby. Go get your own if you want one so much." She clearly remembered the exasperated faces of her husband and the nurses, the latter group straight out laughing, even though she had been so focused on the miracle in her arms, wondering how one so small could have lungs so big._

Kushina chuckled a bit, as she thought back to that perfect moment before everything went wrong. She wished she had held onto her baby just a little longer. Her daughters and younger son were blessings, little angels she loved so much, but she still wished her tiny, strong Naruto, the one who made her a mother, could have grown up knowing his parents and siblings.

So trapped in her memory she was that she barely heard the bell calling for dinner. Kushina rose from her alcove by the window, and suddenly…she wasn't feeling so good. She nearly toppled over. Her head was pounding and alternative waves of cold and hot traveled all throughout her body. Her breathing became heavy and she was finding it hard to keep standing. She just wanted to collapse where she stood.

However, her family was expecting her to join them for dinner. She was an Uzumaki! No little illness was going to stop her! So Kushina kept pushing forward…

…She never did make it to dinner that night.

* * *

END OF BOOK 1

* * *

 **There it is. The first book is finished! I don't know when I'll post the prologue of the second book, but when I do, I will post on this story. The author's note will stay up for a week or so, but I will also add a note at the end of this chapter. Stay tuned!**

 **Note: I know that Obito/Madara appeared right after Naruto was born, but I wanted to add a little moment in there. So let's just day that Obito/Madara was late but still managed to draw out the Kyuubi through pure determination or something. That works.**

 **UPDATE (3/7/17): The prologue of the second book has been posted!**


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